$2,500 gold on the cards by 2011?

Investors who are buying gold with a view to the longer-term outlook for the yellow metal might be interested to read that one expert predicts it could hit $2,500 an ounce within three years.

Speaking to the Free Press, James DiGeorgia, editor of Gold and Energy Advisor, said he believes gold bullion will reach this level in the next two to three years - a gold price that is significantly higher than the inflation-adjusted high of $2,239.67 reached in 1980.

The prediction followed an earlier one from Mr DiGeorgia in 2006, which laid out the case for $1,000 gold in two to three years' time.

With the economy showing signs of potential further weakening and investors expecting higher inflation and a lower dollar, Mr DiGeorgia's forecast may not be as unlikely as it might seem as first glance.

Meanwhile, John Ing, president of Maison Placements Canada, recently said at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention that he expects gold prices to hit $1,200 an ounce this year, with the cycle eventually peaking at $2,500, Reuters reports.

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