Time to shine: gold traders most bullish since 2004, ETF holdings close to all-time record

Gold traders and analysts are the most bullish in at least seven years as investors accumulate metal at the fastest pace since August to protect their wealth from a widening European debt crisis.

Twenty-one of 22 surveyed by Bloomberg expect bullion to rise on the Comex in New York next week, the third consecutive increase and the highest proportion in data going back to April 2004. On Friday, gold snapped a 2-day losing streak adding $29 to trade just under $1,790. The gold price peaked above $1,900 at the end of August after 11 years of gains.

Holdings in exchange-traded products backed by gold rose 27.5 metric tons this week, within 1 percent of the record set almost three months ago, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

MarketWatch quotes Michael K. Smith, with T & K Futures in Florida: “Gold was going back to its usual correlation with the dollar and continuing a more recent trend of correlating with US stocks. It’s also part of a market pattern that when things go bad everyone gets out of everything, and when things go well everyone comes in to everything.”

MINING.com reported over the weekend according to a new report by MarketWatch, gold’s allure is shifting to a new generation. Many people in their 20s and 30s have little faith in equities and, unlike older investors, are more inclined to consider alternative investments. Others seek tangible, hard assets as a counterweight to stocks, bonds and cash in the aftermath of the 2008 US financial crisis. Read more about Generation X and Y turning into Generation Au.

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