Gold hits new record highs

Gold shot up to new record highs above $1,900 an ounce early this week before slipping back sharply. But gold's bull run looks far from over. The latest high came as investors sought a safe haven from a possible global recession and financial turmoil in Europe, threats that won't go away in a hurry.

Gold has received an additional fillip of late from the threat of further central bank intervention to lower the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen, two traditional "safe-haven currencies", says FXPro.com. The threat is another reminder of the "deliberate currency debasement in advanced economies", which contrasts with gold's traditional status as the safest of all currencies. "Gold has a track record of 6,000 years as the currency of last resort and has never turned worthless," says Ronald-Peter Stoferle of Erste Bank.

With advanced economies desperate to rekindle growth, further money printing or deliberate weakening of currencies appear likely, while negative real interest rates also point to inflation. The world's economic weakness and debt problems "will take years to work out of the system", says Paul Walker of precious metals consultancy GFMS. "That is why we are still bullish."

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Central banks in emerging markets take a similar view as they're stocking up on gold to diversify their reserves. Central banks have become net buyers for the first time in a generation. Asian demand for an inflation hedge is also growing. Prithviraj Kothari of the Bombay Bullion Association expects India's gold imports to reach a record this year. Gold is set to keep shining.