Gold May Rebound on Speculation Dollar to Slide, Survey Says

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may rebound this week on speculation that the dollar will slide, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment.

Eighteen of 32 traders, investors and analysts surveyed from Mumbai to Chicago on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16 advised buying gold, which fell 1.8 percent last week to $$839.90 an ounce in New York. Ten said to sell, and four were neutral.

Gold climbed 5.5 percent in 2008, the smallest gain since 2004, as the dollar advanced against a weighted basket of six major currencies for the first time in three years. Low interest rates and government bailouts may drive the greenback lower, analysts said.

Gold’s decline last week surprised most analysts responding on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. The survey has forecast prices accurately in 145 of 246 weeks, or 59 percent of the time.

Last week’s survey results: Bullish: 18 Bearish: 10 Neutral: 4