GFMS Sees $700 Gold By Year-End

Gold investors unnerved by the recent downdraft may just want to sit tight.

That's because investment demand could boost bullion prices to over $700 an ounce by year-end, according to the Gold Survey 2006 -- Update 1, published Thursday morning by London-based specialty consulting firm GFMS.

If the authors' predictions prove correct, gold prices will rise about 17% above Wednesday's close of $596.50 an ounce for December-dated futures. It would also place the yellow metal back into territory not seen since last spring, when the spot price hit a 26-year high of $725.25 on May 12. ...