I have been very puzzled why POG has increased so much since the...

I have been very puzzled why POG has increased so much since the end of February and even the worse US inflation numbers have not seen a significant reduction in US POG - $A POG is still over $3,290 so is very close to the ATH of about $A3,300.

There was an article in yesterday’s AFR which quoted a number of experts and they are all very puzzled by the rise in POG. I also noted ETF flows are still negative in first week of March so that does not account for increase in POG. Much larger central Bank buying of gold over the last 18 months has increased POG many hundreds of dollars above where it should be based on the high level of real interest rates - we won’t know for another 3 weeks if CBs increased their buying even more in March from already very high levels which could explain the rise in POG. One other theory one expert suggested was the hedge funds started buying after POG reached a key threshold - I have doubts about that theory.

While I will not be surprised to see a fall in POG, it may actually consolidate above $US2,150 which would be positive for gold in the shorter to medium term.