By Debbie Carlson
Kitco News
Sovereign debt issues are expected to keep gold bid up next week as the dollar looks weak, participants in the Kitco News gold survey said.
In the Kitco News Gold Survey, out of 34 participants, 19 responded this week. Of those 19 participants, 14 see prices up, while three see prices down and two see prices sideways or unchanged. Market participants include bullion dealers, investment banks, futures traders and technical chart analysts.
Mike Daly, precious metals strategist with PFGBest, summed up the feelings of most market participants who expect higher prices next week: "As long as the European scenario stays the same....the market will remain in an uptrend as savvier investors will seek safer havens."
Worries over the state of Greece's fiscal situation remain at the forefront. Earlier this week there were concerns that Greece might not get its next tranche of funding from the International Monetary Fund and Europe. That gave the dollar strength earlier in the week, but since then those worries have eased.
The few market participants who forecast weaker gold prices next week also suggested it would happen because of the European debt crisis. If the dollar does rise again on sovereign debt worries, it will pressure gold as it did earlier this week and offset any safe-haven support gold might receive in-kind.
Support for gold is seen as low as $1,480-$1,500 an ounce, with resistance around $1,550.
Editor's Note: Cecylia Tulikowski-Denison and Alexander Létourneau contributed to the survey. Follow Kitco's Weekly Gold Survey at www.kitco.com.
