ETFs Could Be Golden on One Analyst’s Price Prediction

One analyst predicts that the price of gold will skyrocket to $1,800 an ounce within the year, a forecast that could have owners of gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) drooling profusely.

Analyst Don MacClean for Paradigm Capital bases his prediction on the combination of the continued decline of the capital markets and investors’ desire to seek out safe havens, reports Brigid Gaffikin for Thomson Financial.

Another factor in the rising price is investors themselves: demand only feeds on itself. As the price rises, so do gold stocks.

If the predictions turn out to be dead-on, investors holding gold ETFs could be sitting pretty:

• iShares Comes Gold Trust (IAU), up 20.5% year-to-date
• streetTRACKS Gold Shares (GLD), up 20.4% year-to-date
• Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX), up 19.9% year-to-date