Gold Prices 'to improve with oil prices'

A prominent Japanese analyst has claimed today (July 22nd) that the potential for Gold Prices to push closer to $1,000 per ounce is linked with the movement of oil prices.

The yellow metal is well-known for the strong inverse relationship it has historically shared with the US dollar, with investors viewing it as an alternative investment to the greenback.

However, gold has also been shown to engage in similar trends to crude - which has performed strongly recently - and Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and Securities, expects this to continue.

He told Bloomberg: "We've seen crude oil climb almost daily and before we knew it, it had topped $60, which has been a positive factor for gold.

"Now whether crude oil challenges $70 … will also be key to whether gold will rise toward its recent high near $990."

Those comments come after Wong Jee Seng, chief operating officer at Public Bank Berhad, the third-largest bank in Malaysia, also sounded a positive note for gold.

He explained in an interview with the Malaysia Star that the bank's new Gold Investment account, which was set up in April 2008, is proving hugely popular with its customers.

"The total value of gold traded from end-April 2008 until now is about RM500 million [$140.3 million]," he told the news provider.

"Based on the number of accounts still coming in, we believe gold investments will continue to be on the uptrend."

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