Gold prices soared to a new intraday record high during Thursday’s (March 24) trade on the New York NYMEX. The precious metal traded as high as $1,447 before falling to a closing price of $1,430.80.

Wednesday’s closing price in New York established the new record high closing price at $1,438.60. The current gold spot rate in early Friday morning New York NYMEX trade is $1,436.40.

Investors trying to avoid higher risk investments in lieu of global political tensions have been moving back into gold.

Oil prices have also been higher in recent weeks on production concerns for the Middle East, but recent data suggesting higher demand has kept oil under wraps this week. One barrel of light sweet crude futures trades at $105.59 Friday morning, down $.01 from Thursday’s settle price.

In a forward looking global forecast for 2011, the People’s Bank of China has indicated, among other expectations, its belief that the US dollar will remain weak throughout the year.

A weaker dollar bodes well for gold investors to make money. China’s central bank leaders believe the US economy will remain uncertain and no indications exist that the Fed is going to raise rates anytime soon.

Gold continues to serve as the steadiest profit-yielding investment of the 21st century. Investors who bought into around $250 at the turn of the century have experienced a nearly 17 percent annualized return rate during the last decade.

As long as speculators continue to push gold prices to new heights buying interest will prevail, given the removal of any preexisting notion of how high gold prices can go.

Some analysts have forecasted gold prices as high as $2,000 per ounce before the end of 2011. Goldmoney.com founder James Turk boldly projected a few years ago that, due largely to inflationary adjustment, gold could move into the $3,000 to $5,000 range by 2013.

Turk’s projections seemed outlandish at the time, but given how high gold has climbed in just one year (from $1,091), a price beyond $3,000 by 2013 seems within the realm of possibilities.