In late September 2010, delegates participated in a poll at the London Bullion Market Association’s annual conference in Berlin. 64% of the delegates who participated said they expected to see the dollar weaken by the time of the next LBMA conference; 63% said they believe U.S. inflation will rise at the same time.

This is exactly the scenario many investors and traders see playing out today. The strength of the dollar recently dipped compared to other currencies, while at the same time, the Federal Reserve announced plans for economic stimulus actions in 2011 that are viewed by many as inflationary.

The delegates at the LBMA poll also said they expected the price of gold to hit $1,450 an ounce over the course of the next year. Recently, the price spiked to $1,398.25. Now analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. report they anticipate gold climbing as high as $1,650.

What do all these predictions and recent record highs mean for individuals who are wondering if they should buy gold today?

Some view record highs as an indication that now is the best time to buy gold and keep on reinvesting the profits you might attain in the coming year. While currencies, stocks and bonds may continue to be plagued by uncertainty, gold continues to retain its value, regardless of how much other types of investments may drop.

When you purchase gold today, you store wealth in a physical form that isn’t going to change. An ounce of gold will remain an ounce of gold. The value of the dollar or stocks or bonds may rise and fall, but none of this will alter the amount of physical gold you own.

The spot price of gold fluctuates over time, yet as a precious metal, it’s reasonable to expect gold will always be highly valued. If you consider gold a long term investment, it’s also reasonable to anticipate a rise in the spot price of gold over time that will offset inflationary losses. In other words, you can store wealth in the form of gold without concern about a loss in buying power due to inflation. This is the true value many see in precious metals: the ability to hedge against inflation.

If you’re concerned that prices are too high for you to buy gold today, consider the prediction that they’re only going to go up over the next year. Now could be the very best time to buy gold if you want to take advantage of a sound investment opportunity.