EDITORIAL PAGE — Give us a `G’ . . .

For a while, we were a wee bit concerned about gold. After impressive gains in April and May to the US$380-per-oz. range, bullion prices settled back to about $365 and change. We feared that, once again, the yellow metal had had a false start.

But on July 2, prices again took off, touching US$388 (the London second fix) — a gain of about $9 from the previous day’s afternoon fix. With that latest little bounce, this rally, which began early this year, looks solid. Analysts are now talking more confidently about US$400 gold. It is said the strength in gold comes primarily from buying in the Far East and, more generally, from fears of inflation.

On the downside, the worry still is that governments, through their central banks, will dump gold on to the market. The Canadian government, for example, in spite of criticism from the domestic gold mining industry, continues to sell its gold. In June, it sold another 350,000 oz. It now holds about 8.1 million oz. Last year, Ottawa unloaded 94 tonnes.

But in spite of central bank sales, which have at least eased from last year’s levels, gold prices continue to rise.

Naturally, we’re on the sidelines cheering.