Anglo-Pacific: Coal, or a brighter Future?

The year of the smaller company
Peter Temple 20-12-05


Metal markets
Arguably the other outstanding feature of the year has been the strength in metals markets, and the recent surge in the gold price. I find it amusing that the chattering classes find the strength in gold so puzzling. As Herbert Hoover said: “We have gold, because we cannot trust governments”. Enough said.

The Economist dismissed the rise in the gold price as an aberration almost from the moment Gordon Brown sold half of Britain’s gold reserves at half the current price. But gold is still cheap, both historically and relative to other commodities. I see its price continuing to rise in 2006. I have bought gold bullion coins for my grandson this past year. I intend to do the same again in 2006.