Gold prices are likely to be majorly influenced by the Iraq-US issue this year and it is forecast that the price could shoot upto $370 per ounce. It is also expected that an average price for the first half of this year could be $330 per ounce, down on current levels but up 4 per cent on the second half 2002 average.
Philip Klapwijk, managing director of Gold Fields Mineral Services (GFMS), while warning of possible volatility in the global gold prices said,