Gold might have lost some lustre in 2008 but was nonetheless an investment bright spot this year, according to a new survey of gold companies released Thursday.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, which conducts an annual survey of 45 gold miners throughout the globe, said that gold has basically held its value in 2008 while other investments have slipped dramatically.

PWC asked bullion producers the price they use to assess their mineral reserves and discovered that gold, which started the year worth $846 US an ounce, was still valued at roughly $800 by the beginning of December.

The later price represented a drop of five per cent, nowhere near the approximate 38 per cent plunge experienced by the Toronto Stock Exchange during the same 11-month period, mainly due to the financial global meltdown.

"While other commodities and the economy have trended down, gold has held its value. Gold is serving its purpose as a hedge of wealth in uncertain times," said Paul Murphy, leader of PWC's Canadian mining practice.

Flight to the light

Many investors hold the shiny metal to protect against a falling economy, high inflation or a flagging U.S. dollar. That makes gold an attractive investment option during times of economic uncertainty.

Certainly, as the world economy sags, the relationship between high gold value and bad economic times has remained true.

For the first eight months of 2008, for example, almost 50 million gold contracts — instruments that allow investors to trade gold they may or may not actually own — changed hands in Asia with another 34.5 million written in the United States.

That was the first time that the number of future contracts traded in that region exceeded the number in the United States and served as an indicator of where risk-adverse Asians were placing their money.

Also, spot prices for gold have been soaring in recent weeks as buyers look for a place to park their money while waiting for equity markets and the global economy to stop sliding.

Gold rose nearly three per cent in European trading Thursday as the U.S. dollar lost ground against the euro, boosting the precious metal’s appeal as a currency hedge.

As well, gold and platinum prices traded within $5 US of one another, threatening to breach parity for the first time in 12 years. Platinum values are often viewed as a proxy for car fortunes and are an indication of the sad prospects for this once-mighty industry.

PWC said that gold prices had slid to about $764 an ounce since the consulting firm's survey was conducted.

That measure, however, is a company price, not the value found on the global spot market.

The spot price in London hit $833.80 an ounce in London.