Why? I doubt they are going to help their previous allies out. TOCOM yen-based gold futures rose to seven-week highs on Thursday. Dealers expected the rally to continue, after a lull for year-end book squaring Friday, once the new fiscal year begins on Monday.
The benchmark February 2003 contract rose 23 yen to 1,285 per gram. A contract high at 1,289 was the priciest on a continuation basis since Feb. 8, when a weak yen, jitters over Japan's financial health and an ailing stock market drove futures over 1,300 yen.
``Yes we are saying a twenty-year bear market in gold is over, provided the Bank of Japan sustains their easy money policy,'' wrote Gregory Weldon, a consulting analyst for Prudential Securities, in his metals commentary Thursday.
Weldon said he believes the yen will start to tumble next week after year-end domestic repatriation out of foreign assets disappears as a support for the currency. That will encourage Japanese investors to buy more gold futures, bars and coins to protect their wealth. |
