LONDON (Commodity Online): The value of making a gold investment has been boosted after a leading Korean thinktank predicted that oil prices could hit $100 per barrel in the next three years. Gold prices have traditionally shared an inverse relationship with the US dollar but have also shown signs of moving in the same direction as crude in recent times. Now Lee Gwang-Wu, a senior researcher at the LG Economic Research Institute (LGERI), has explained that the influence of the Opec cartel will send oil higher by 2012. He told the Korea Times: "The effect of reduced investment will emerge in 2012. At that time, non-Opec countries will not be able to offer enough oil to the world. "Then, Opec is expected to make a decision of strategically controlling the oil production, thus making its presence felt. Then the oil prices might touch $100 a barrel in 2012 or 2013." The relationship between oil and gold was also highlighted last week by Shuji Sugata, a manager at Mitsubishi Corp Futures and Securities in Japan. He explained in an interview with Bloomberg that any further gains in crude are likely to help the yellow metal to push towards its all-time high of $1,030 per ounce. "We've seen crude oil climb almost daily and before we knew it, it had topped $60, which has been a positive factor for gold," he told the news provider. "Now whether crude oil challenges $70 … will also be key to whether gold will rise toward its recent high near $990."

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