Gold Breaks $1,150 Barrier - Where to Next?

Where is gold going next?

It has been a struggle, but gold has again broken past the psychological barrier of $1,150 an ounce, and some are looking for a target as high as $1,240 in the not too distant future.

Of course $1,200 should be another barrier to break through, but with so many variables out there to move gold one way or the other, it's hard to tell where it'll go in the short term, especially if the Greece debt crisis ends with them being bailed out, which could put downward pressure on gold, at least temporarily.

But Greece alone isn't driving gold up, and the idea that gold is an alternative currency to paper currencies has been increasing among some who haven't thought that way in the past, and that will be a primary driver of gold prices in the years ahead, as governments and central banks around the world attempt to figure out how to pay back the extraordinary amount of debt they've incurred and try to limit the pain related to the paper money they've printed out as a consequence.

The close ot $1,161.40 an ounce for gold on Friday is the highest close in four months, and it's almost assuredly going to rise higher than that going forward.