Gold Price to Rise in 2012 on Loose Monetary Policy: Analysts

Many analysts remain bullish on gold and expect it to continue to rally in 2012.

They argued that the reason gold prices fell late last year (the lack of liquidity) is no longer relevant while the reason gold prices surged earlier last year (loose monetary policy) remains intact.

The European Central Bank has already injected hundreds of billions of euros into the financial system last December and may inject a similar amount (or more) at the end of February 2012.

The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, could very well launch QE3 soon, according to analysts like Patrick Legland, head of research at Societe Generale.

Suki Cooper of Barclays Capital, speaking on CNBC, pointed to the Federal Reserve's expectation to keep interest rates unchanged until 2014 as evidence of its loose monetary policy.

Long-term inflation and currency debasement concerns, therefore, remain relevant in 2012, she said.

Gold remains an alternative currency, said Legland.

Late last year, the gold rally hit a bump as prices tumbled a total of about 20 percent from the high in early September to the low in late December.

This drop was in large part caused by the selling of gold financial instruments (mostly gold futures) by hedge funds and other asset managers; they were forced to do so because of futures margin requirement hikes from the CME Group and a general global liquidity crunch.

In early 2012, these conditions no longer exist, according to Legland and Cooper, who voiced their opinion in separate interviews.

Moreover, gold enjoys physical demand from Chinese buyers and flows to gold financial instruments, although positive, are not yet aggressive, meaning the gold rally is sustainable in the near future, said Cooper.

Legland, speaking on Bloomberg TV, predicted that gold prices will rise above $2,000 in 2012.

Not every analyst is bullish on gold, however.

If gold reaches the $1,900 per ounce threshold again in 2012, the CME Group might raise margin requirements for gold futures again, Richard Hastings of Global Hunter Securities said on CNBC.

COMEX gold futures closed at $1,749.50 per ounce on Wednesday.