Gold, heading for the biggest January rally since 1983, may rise 33 percent further to a record $2,300 an ounce early next year, according to technical analysis by Ronald Stoeferle, a commodity analyst at Erste Group Bank.

The precious metal closed above the 50-day moving average on Wednesday, after having settled above the 30-day moving average and 200-day moving average since Jan. 17. Gold climbed 10.8 percent this month, the most since 1983. Futures for April delivery closed at $1,735.40 on the Comex in New York on Friday.

“We are seeing a momentum in gold,” Stoeferle said from Vienna. “Gold will continue to move up as the correction is over.”

Stoeferle was the second-most accurate forecaster for the third quarter last year tracked by Bloomberg. Gold futures gained for the 11th straight year and surged to a record $1,923 an ounce on Sept. 6 as investors bought the metal as an alternative to equities and some currencies amid concern that global economic growth will slow and that sovereign-debt woes will worsen.

The Federal Reserve’s Wednesday announcement that it will keep US interest rates low through at least late 2014 will create inflationary pressure, helping gold to climb higher, Stoeferle said.

Debarati Roy | January 30, 2012