Gold May Extend Rally to Record on Demand for Inflation Hedge

By Pham-Duy Nguyen

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rise for a second straight week,
extending a rally to a record, as higher energy costs boost demand for
a hedge against inflation.

Nineteen of 31 traders, investors and analysts surveyed by Bloomberg
from Mumbai to New York on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22 advised buying gold,
which rose to $947.80 an ounce last week in New York, a 4.6 percent
gain that was the biggest since November. Seven said to sell, and five
were neutral.

Gold climbed to a record $958.40 on Feb. 21 as crude oil reached
$101.32 a barrel, the highest ever. The metal rallied 31 percent last
year as consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 17 years and the
dollar fell to a record low against the euro.

A majority of analysts surveyed Feb. 14 and Feb. 15 had anticipated
last week's gain in gold. The survey has forecast prices accurately in
124 of 199 weeks, or 62 percent of the time.

This week's survey results: Bullish: 19 Bearish: 7Neutral: 5

To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at
pngu...@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 24, 2008 12:31 EST