BEIJING (Commodity Online): In the coming decade, nobody can stop the rise of gold, that is what the opinion of Owen Hegarty, an Australian expert in mineral resources.

He told a Chinese news agency that gold prices are expected to remain on an upward track in a decade to come despite recent fluctuations.

For the foreseeable future, or at least in this decade, all reasons to buy gold are positive, he said.

Gold is a hedge against inflation and financial and political uncertainty, he said, noting that the world has not come out of the global financial crisis and inflation is looming in major economies, mainly due to their massive fiscal stimulus packages.

As a commodity, the supply of gold, or gold that has been mined, has been declining since 2001.

Despite the massive funds pouring into exploration of gold mines in recent years, no major gold mines had been discovered, but the physical demand for gold is actually going up. And such demand is not only out of fiscal purposes but out of jewelry and industrial purposes as well.

People buy gold for store of value, especially in developing countries where GDP is going up.

Due to uncertainty of US dollars, people and governments have to look for another reserve currency to hedge risks, and gold is such a good reserve currency, he said, citing the fact that India had been back in the market buying gold.

On the recent decline of gold prices after reaching a new high, Hegarty said there is some pressure for gold buyers to sell some for profits, but it will not affect the long-term growth of gold prices.

Investment Inflation Gold