Why the dip in the gold price is a buying opportunity

Gold has been a volatile investment since the start of 2006. But it's weak bull market that doesn't have strong corrections, says Bill Bonner in the Daily Reckoning.

Metals got off to a flying start in 2006. But they have fallen somewhat in the last week. Gold slumped to just $541 on Wednesday, more than 5% off its high of $574.60 at the beginning of last month; platinum dropped below its $1,000 per ounce level; and silver is 6.5% off its January high.

So what's going on? asks Adrian Ash on Dailyreckoning.co.uk. "Is the trade of the decade taking a breather or has it quit the field?"

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But it isn't. "It's a weak bull market that doesn't have strong corrections," says Bonner, who thinks that gold could fall all the way back to $500 before resuming its upwards path.

Analyst David Fuller agrees that the last week's trading represents no more than a blip. As he points out on Fullermoney.com, in a world where central banks can, and do, print trillions of new dollars, euros, yen, and so forth every day, any long-term store of value (such as gold) can only be a good thing to hold. The fundamentals of the market are still just as they were, so ignore the bears and "buy gold on dips", says Bonner.

Annunziata Rees-Mogg

Annunziata was a deputy editor at MoneyWeek, covering financial markets, politics, economics and comment pieces. She then went on to the Daily Telegraph as a lead writer where she wrote a column on young women’s financial issues. She was briefly a member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands region in the UK as part of the Conservative Party.  Annunziata continues to write  as a freelance journalist.