The only certainty for the Price of Gold in 2009...? Volatility

WHAT WILL 2009 BRING for the Gold Price? The only dead-cert, as in 2008, will be volatility – the kind of gut-wrenching volatility that keeps you awake at night, fretting about this week's 5% loss...longing for next week's 5% gain.

The financial crisis starting in summer '07 has now seen daily swings in Gold Prices widen five times over for US-Dollar investors. The breadth of gold's daily swings has gaped wider for all other investors, as well.

But amid these sharp fluctuations, the underlying trend – looking at Gold's Outlook in 2009 at least, if not beyond the New Year – has remained higher, as new data from the analysts at Virtual Metals in London show...

What's more, the volatility in Spot Gold prices doesn't mean that owning the metal will cause any more sleepless nights than holding equities, debt or currency investments.

During 2008, price volatility in the S&P 500 index leapt almost 8 times over. As 2009 draws nigh, the Euro – when valued in the US greenback – has become more than four times as volatile as it was when the financial crisis broke in Aug. '07.

Even Treasury bonds have gone wild, with the volatility in US yields becoming more vicious than even Gold Bullion or currency moves.

What factors will impact the Gold Markets in 2009...? Start reading here.