Gold a 8216;bubble8217; that could deflate: Analyst

International gold struck a record of 1,877 an ounce on Friday,still on track for its biggest one-month rise in nearly 12 years in August and its biggest one-week gain since early 2009.

Rhodes said gold may retrace to 1,725 by next month,and then race ahead.

8220;My problem is that people are buying gold and they don8217;t understand why they are buying gold and that8217;s a big problem and that is a classic symptom of a bubble,8221; said Rhodes.

Rhodes said there is an absence of 8216;real motivation8217; for investors to cash in their gold holdings to cover losses from the equity markets.

On Friday,global equity markets slid anew and gold set a second-straight record high as fears of a possible US slide into recession and concerns related to Europe8217;s debt crisis kept investors on edge.