Earlier this month, gold prices hit an all-time high, since the yellow metal fetched greater than $1,240 an ounce. Yet gold bugs still think the cost can hit even higher highs, back to the nearly $2,000 per ounce figure hit in the Nineteen Eighties, on an inflation-adjusted basis. That may spell further gains for gold mining stocks such as Barrick Gold (NYSE: ABX), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) as well as AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE: AU). To see where gold may be headed, we’d like to have a look back.

Ever since United States government moved to no longer back its currency in 1973 with gold reserves, there has forever been a small army of people who expected the Federal Reserve to make use of its unfettered powers of a printing press to make a lot of cash plus call damaging inflation. And with government increasing its debt obligations for each of the previous 10 years, there’s actual cause for concern. That is because Uncle Sam will in the end have only two choices to resolve the fiscal mess. Either start to generate economic surpluses through a combination of upper taxes and fewer government expenditure. Or accept higher rates of interest on any future bond offerings, which might probably result in the rising inflation that many gold bugs expect.

To be clear, those inflation worries have not still come residence to roost. Actually, inflation steadily declined in 1990s and has remained steadily in check in this last decade. Simply place, gold has to be seen like a protect against “potential” inflation. And while gold has increase  less than $400 per ounce in 2002 to greater than $1,200 today, it is reasonable to speculate if some eventual spike in inflation has already been accounted for. Actually, the only justification for gold to achieve $1,500 or just $2,000, as some anticipate, is if inflation not only rises but starts to spiral out of control. Which now doesn’t seem likely in the world where many central banks has educated important instruction about fighting inflation.

The current further gains in gold are appear from further aspects. Unrest in the Korean Peninsula, with economic issues in Europe, are approaching up gold prices, decoupling the trade with the long-standing inflation worries. If the Korean threat abates, or European issues go back, so will gold prices. Hence this can be a time for earnings for those buying gold on the rising inflation thesis.

For most traders, it is best to obtain an industry that looks undervalued or overvalued, whereas locate the company that’s best-positioned or else worst-positioned for expansion (depending on if you are going long or else going short). But in circumstances of gold, there are many further conditions to think about when you go long or else short individuals gold company, including extraction overheads, hedging strategies, and depletion rates. You may catch much bigger upside or downside, plus avoid all those other aspects, by playing the etfs that often employ leverage and magnify returns – in the bullish or bearish way.

For example, the ProShares UltraShort Gold ETF (NYSE: GLL) bets in opposition to gold, rising or else lessening at twice the rate in the opposite direction with the yellow metal. During the previous year, that fund have gone half its cost in face of steadily rising gold costs. If we normally see earnings in gold, then this fund should post a decent gain.

Conversely, if you think gold has more space to run as well as large government deficits will inevitably lead to high inflation, then a Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE: GDX) might be the play. Ofcourse, you can also just purchase gold by itself, plus tuck it away in the protected-deposit box. However you can surely keep away from any television pitches that highlight gold’s shine. Most of time, these firms exist to pull out high charges from investors, lining the pockets of the pitchmen.

Gold Market Monitor is a specialized newsletter for timing the Gold Market that shows its members the best time to invest in gold bullion or gold stocks and when to exit to the safety of cash. Start your 60-day trial to the Gold Market Monitor which uses an exclusive gold timing strategy to help its members safely profit from underlying trends in the gold market.

With Gold sitting at over $1225 per ounce, one has to ask themselves , “how much higher will it go ?”  Many variables go into the formula which determines how high people are willing to pay for Gold bullion.  Only five years ago gold prices were at about 30% of what they are standing at today .  An Investment of $10,000 back in 2004 would be worth in excess of $32,000 today .  So, what are the key variables that will determine how much higher prices will rise in the approaching years? ?

US and World Inflation :

If and when the inflation rate goes up, gold prices also go up too as a currency is devalued .  It is one of the largest hedges against inflation .  With the Us, and now Europe, in what many are calling extreme national debt, inflation may be quite high in the years ahead, especially if it causes the fiat currencies to decrease in value .

Demand for Jewelry and Other Manufactured Goods :

Because gold is one of the best conductors of electricity, many electronics use it for various components.  Jewlery is also big in South Asia, and as these economies grow, so does the demand for it. .  As China and India increase both their demand for gold jewelry as well as electronics like cell phones , the demand for Gold should continue to rise quite rapidly over time .

Many experts are predicting gold prices to rise in excess of $2000 per ounce within the next 2-3 years . In Fact there are Investment opportunities that are based around golds prospects to rise in price such as JmGold.  Personally I believe that these predictions may be on the low side.  I would not be surprised to see gold prices approaching $3,500 an oucne by 2016 as the world debt problem grows, and so does economic uncertainty.  Of course the increase won’t be a steady upward thrust .  We will see ups and downs, however the overall trend should be up .  I would recommend an investment in the metal, however, don’t overdo it as you should never put all your eggs in one basket.  A great way to invest is to directly purchase Gold Eagle coins from the US mint and store them away in a safe place.  If you don’t like this idea, an investment in a Exchange Traded Fund, such as ticker symbol GLD, is the next best thing .