Just further stress on the physical market. Funny that GS is considered a "credible" market analyst???

Regards - VHF

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Gold hysteria grips Australia, bullion sales soar

June 24, 2010

(Commodity Online): The gold hysteria has hit Australia hard as investors dump paper money and turn to precious metals as a source of diversification of their wealth, according to George Vo, Precious Metals Sales Manager of Gold De Royale, Australia’s premier retailer for Swiss precious metals. With gold prices hitting an all time high at US$1,266.50 an ounce, investors bought Swiss precious metals as a hedge against financial turbulence caused by Europe’s debt crisis.

The never ending debt crisis in Europe, combined with weak employment numbers in the US, brought the US dollar down from its recent highs. This rekindled fears of a double dip recession, and gold duly performed its role as a dollar hedge. People in Australia now have a better picture of the European Union debt crisis as the EU recovery packages are not long term solutions and can only create more debt.

“Precious metals sales at Gold De Royale have soared to a record level and we are almost working 24 hours to keep up with demand. People from all walks of life, from a farmer to a corporate CEO, want to buy gold and silver bullion to protect their wealth. The most popular gold bullion products that consumers want are the Argor Heraeus Gold Kinebar followed by the prestigious PAMP Suisse gold bullion. The PAMP Suisse silver bars were the most sought out silver product by consumers and demand for this product had exceeded supply,” said Mr. Vo.

Many credible market analysts, such as Goldman Sachs, have forecasted gold to hit US$1400 in 2010, and some have predicted gold to hit US$1300 in the coming weeks as investors sell US Dollars. People are looking for safe investments that do not lose value, and at this moment, gold bullion is their first investment priority as precious metals have outperformed equities and bonds.

"Many of our customers tell us that they are extremely fearful of the present global financial scenario. There is no good news coming out of the US and the Euro zone, and it is making investors feel a bit uncertain about going into riskier assets. Most precious metal investors see the slow degradation of the dollar or the Euro and do not want to hold a fiat currency. During global financial uncertainties, gold has always prevailed as a safe-haven asset to which investors can turn. "