Gold May Advance to Record After Drop, Barclays Says: Technical Analysis

Gold may advance 9.6 percent to a record $1,485 an ounce by the end of the year, according to technical analysts at Barclays Capital.

“Strategically, we are bullish,” the bank said. “Medium- term trend followers are unlikely to have been panicked out of their positions given that important support between $1,314 and $1,331 is still holding,” according to a report dated yesterday by analysts including Philip Roberts.

Gold for immediate delivery gained 1.4 percent to $1,354.95 an ounce today after losing 5.2 percent in the previous four days. The metal climbed to a record $1,424.60 on Nov. 9. Hedge- fund managers and other large speculators increased their net- long positions in New York gold futures by 7 percent in the week ended Nov. 9, ending four weeks of declines, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data.

“A bearish divergence signal on weekly charts, though, warns of downside risk throughout the month, and we still fear an important clearout below $1,314 to $1,250 before gold recovers,” the bank said. “We would be bargain-hunting as the price approaches $1,250.”

Resistance levels are at $1,387, $1,377 and $1,364 an ounce and support is at $1,314, $1,297 and $1,250, it said.

In technical analysis, investors and analysts study charts of trading patterns and prices to predict changes in a security, commodity, currency or index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Luzi Ann Javier in Singapore at ljavier@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net.