LONDON (Commodity Online): Gold price may be at its historical high, but the yellow metals is the best investment option across the globe, says a new report from the World Gold Council (WGC).

The new WGC study says that gold investment demand continued to increase during the third quarter of 2009.

In its latest Gold Investment Digest report, the marketing organization claimed that the yellow metal is one of the least volatile assets available in the current economic climate.

Natalie Dempster, head of North American investment of WGC, explained that fears over the future of the dollar seem likely to keep gold popular for the foreseeable future.

"A recovering global economy coupled with most major central banks keeping benchmark rates at record low levels increased demand for gold as a store of value, as some investors feared about future inflation," she said.

"Moreover, we saw an improvement in risk appetite during the quarter, which also put more downward pressure on the dollar as investors sold US Treasuries in favor of higher-yielding assets overseas, further increasing demand for gold as a dollar hedge."

Ms. Dempster's comments come after Gerald McConnell, president and chief executive of diversified Canadian miner Etruscan Resources, also talked of the value of investing in gold.

Speaking to the Chronicle Herald last week, he predicted that gold prices could almost double from their current level just above $1,000 per ounce in the long term.

"A prediction of $2,000 per ounce within the next ten years does not sound far-fetched. Some experts are predicting more significant increases," he told the news provider.

Meanwhile, Phillip Futures analyst Adrian Koh claimed that gold prices could be set to retest their all-time highs in the coming weeks, Reuters reports.

The yellow metal hit a record $1,070 per ounce last week, dispelling the fears of some commentators, who predicted a major pullback after its latest surge into four-figure territory.

Although trading has slowed in the past few days, Mr. Koh explained that this could simply be the calm before a further move upwards as the dollar continues to struggle.

"From a technical perspective, it looks like the precious metal is pausing and consolidating after reaching the highs of $1,070 an ounce," he told the news provider.

"And if the general scenario doesn't change, as in a weakening dollar, then we could be in for a test of the record highs again when gold does break higher."

Those comments were strongly corroborated last week by Hwang Il Doo, a senior trader at Seoul-based brokerage firm KEB Futures.

In an interview with Bloomberg, he explained that the most popular view on the greenback - which trades in the opposite direction to Gold Prices - is that it will remain subdued in the longer term.

"The dollar's downtrend remains intact and so does gold's uptrend," he told the news provider.

"A pause in the dollar's loss may provide an excuse for investors to take profits which won't of course alter the bullish outlook for precious metals."

Courtesy: www.bullionvault.com