solusnauta posted "I think a lot of people sold recently when it...

solusnauta posted "I think a lot of people sold recently when it crashed and have stashed their cash under the bed waiting for the global uncertainty to settle down"

Perhaps I should have mentioned that they didn't stash their cash but bought gold during times of uncertainty.

perhaps, and I say perhaps, given the news below, that this article signals that the market is now reflecting that global uncertainty has eased.

Ineresting times ahead.


Gold price has biggest drop in three years

APAugust 25, 2011, 6:49 am


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http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/10106603/gold-price-has-biggest-drop-in-three-years/

The West Australian �


Gold prices plunged 5.6 per cent overnight as investors grew more confident about the global economy.

Gold dropped $US104 to finish at $US1757.30 an ounce. It was the steepest percentage drop since March 2008. Gold is still up 24 per cent for the year.

Investors have been buying gold because of concerns about economic weakness in the United States and Europe as well as a stretch of severe volatility in financial markets that began in early August.

Recent economic news has been more encouraging.

The government said Wednesday that orders rose four per cent in July for long-lasting goods such as cars and aircraft, the biggest increase since March. Retail sales and industrial production were also better last month.

The improvement in economic news, combined with higher stock prices this week, eased investors' jitters. In the past two days investors have sold gold following its recent run-up.

Gold is seen a relatively stable investment that investors use as a hedge against losses in other holdings, especially when the economy seems weak and financial markets are volatile.

Gold has been climbing at a record-setting pace, reaching $US1900 an ounce for the first time on Monday. Gold is still below the level it reached in 1980 after adjusting for inflation.

Unlike stocks or bonds, gold doesn't pay any interest or dividends, nor does it represent ownership in a company.

Its value is strictly tied to what investors are currently willing to pay for it. And that, says Cetin Ciner, a professor of finance at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, is exactly where the problem lies.

"When you have something so subjected to investor psychology, you can see extreme reactions," Ciner said.

Some analysts believe gold prices have been climbing so high, so fast that it was time for a correction.
"I think it was overbought, yes. I think the rally was too quick during a short amount of timespan," CPM Group analyst Carlos Sanchez said.