A leading precious metals consultancy claimed today (July 8th) that Gold Prices should comfortably break the $1,000 per ounce mark by the end of the year.

The yellow metal reached its all-time high of $1,030 per ounce last March and has since passed the four-figure again on two further occasions before quickly falling back.

However, GFMS chairman Philip Klapwijk has explained that ongoing concerns over the state of the global economy - plus subsequent inflationary worries - should see investors continue to Buy Gold in the remainder of 2009.

Speaking at GFMS' annual Gold Survey in Beijing, he commented: "The price may have pulled back a fair bit from the February highs but that was largely just the market's reaction to jewellery demand crumbling and scrap booming.

"We believe that it's far from game over for investors. The gold price in the coming months could easily re-attain the $1,000 mark and is likely to push up towards a fresh record high before the end of the year."

Those comments come after Don Dion, publisher of the Fidelity Independent Adviser newsletter and founder of Dion Money Management, explained that gold is an excellent portfolio diversifier.

"If you believe that inflation concerns are unfounded, gold is a good way to diversify your portfolio with an investment that has traditionally performed well when other sectors of the market have done poorly," he wrote on TheStreet.com.

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