NEW YORK (TheStreet ) -- Gold prices catapulted to a new record Friday as fears of a global double-dip recession sent investors piling into gold, but many experts warn that time may be up for this current rally.
Gold for December delivery was skyrocketing $45.80 to $1,867.80 an ounce at the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The gold price has traded as high as $1,872.20 and as low as $1,824.50 while the spot gold price was adding $43, according to Kitco's gold index.
Silver prices were up 70 cents at $41.39 an ounce. TheU.S. dollar index was down 0.03% at $74.23 while the euro was down 0.10% vs. the dollar.
Gold prices have risen more than 5% in just a week as investors gobble up the metal as protection against slowing global growth from China to Germany to the U.S. A day after Morgan Stanley lowered U.S. growth prospects for 2011 and 2012, gold prices showed no signs of slowing down.
Citigroup also joined the fray lowering 2011 U.S. growth from 1.7% to 1.6% and for 2012 to 2.1% from 2.7%. While growth signs point to the possibility of a double dip recession, Bank of America may slash 10,000 jobs, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, which is ominous for any attempt at a recovery in employment.
Investors don't really have a lot of options for "safe" places to stash cash as Hewlett-Packard's(HPQ_)dismal 2011 outlook was dragging stock futures down again giving no respite from Thursday's carnage. The popular gold ETF, SPDR Gold Shares(GLD_), added 15 tons Thursday to 1,286, but many experts are now bracing for a pullback after gold's explosive run.
David Banister, chief investment strategist at ActiveTradingPartners.com, said that gold will peak out at either $1,862, $1,880 or $1,907 an ounce.
"One of those three is going to peak out this parabolic blow off top rally and be followed by a great opportunity to profit by shorting," he said.
Banister, who thinks that gold's long-term bull run is not yet over, said that peaks are typically followed by 15%-20% corrections, which would take gold to the $1,500 an ounce level.
