POINT TO PONDER

Gold may be ‘off to the races’ above $950
Gold may be “off to the races” if prices break resistance levels at $950 to $960 an ounce, according to Jeffrey Rhodes, a Dubai-based trader with International Assets Holding Corp.
Prices may surpass $1,200 an ounce this year, more than the record $1,032.70 reached in March 2008, Rhodes said. Gold peaked at $1,006.29 this year on February 20. Gold’s support level is at about $850 an ounce, he said.
Support is where buy orders may be clustered and resistance is where there may be sell orders.
“A number that would get everyone very excited would be $1,005 an ounce,” Rhodes said in an interview April 27.
Gold for immediate delivery has advanced for eight consecutive years, the longest winning streak since at least 1948. Investment in the SPDR Gold Trust, the biggest exchange- traded fund backed by gold, almost doubled in 12 months and overtook Switzerland as the world’s sixth-largest gold holding.
Gold has gained 0.5% this year to $886.55 an ounce at the close of trading May 1.
Some investors buy gold and other precious metals to hedge against rising consumer prices.