Gold and crude oil will be this year’s best-performing commodities, according to investors surveyed by Barclays Capital. About 23 percent of respondents picked bullion as the top performer, and 21 percent chose oil, Barclays analyst Kevin Norrish said today in a presentation to reporters in London. He cited a survey of investors attending the bank’s Commodities Investors Conference in Barcelona, Spain, on March 5-6. “In other sectors, demand is still pretty bad,” Norrish said. “I would say industrial metals may start bottoming out in the second, third quarter of the year.” Gold for immediate delivery has climbed for eight years in a row and has added 6.5 percent in 2009. Some investors are buying bullion to safeguard their wealth as banks collapse and stock markets retreat, while others have become concerned about possible future inflation as governments spend trillions of dollars to combat the global financial crisis. Oil, up 2 percent this year, has plunged 69 percent from a July record of $147.27 a barrel. Investors find current prices for the commodity “attractive,” Norrish said. Barclays surveyed about 230 investors at the conference.

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