Despite the fact that gold prices per ounce continue to fluctuate, many expert analysts predict that the value will continue to rise.

To close out 2010, the Wall Street Journal’s website capped off the year by sharing Goldman Sachs’ prediction that gold would reach $1,690 an ounce in 2011. (1)

Seem high?

Maybe.

But if the 2011 price of gold continues to rise in a pattern that echoes the 2010 gains, the Goldman Sachs prediction might even be low. Of course, lots of factors come into play–including the ever-changing global state of social and economic unrest.

Still, if the 2011 gold market mirrors what we saw 2010, we’ll close out the year with gold prices per ounce hitting a mark even higher than $1,800 (1).

And actually, that Gold Sachs estimate is an increase over their earlier prediction for 2011.

In early December 2009, according to Reuters, the Goldman Sachs predictions looked like this (2):

2010 predicted average: $1,265 per ounce

2011 predicted average: $1,425 per ounce

Many of us are wondering if we should get in now, and make our buys. We can imagine looking back and thinking we should have bought gold when it was “only” $1300 per ounce.

I already look back at reports that predicted the price of gold would hit $700 per ounce in 2008. And that seemed high to me…back then, when I read that…in 2005.

While it seems–and is–expensive, overall, the price of gold is remaining stable. One important factor is the simple matter of supply and demand.

As of yet, there’s been no huge rush to buy, and so gold production has not greatly increased. Some experts say gold prices per ounce can only increase over time, even if there’s a huge jump in mining and production.

When mining efforts for gold production do increase, there’s still that that one major limiting factor:

We can’t make more gold, we can only find what’s already been created for us.

Because of that, an increase in the efforts to put more gold on the market may serve to drive the prices up, in the end.