Although private investors had turned away from the yellow metal since early 2011, causing its decline, the persistence of the financial crisis is bringing about a return of appetite for this safe haven.

The Federal Reserve has extended its commitment to keep key interest rates close to zero to mid-2015:
Above all, it announced an unlimited third round of securities purchases, which was not expected by the market. The market was banking on purchases limited in volume and duration.

This decision paves the way to a long-term swelling of the money supply by the central bank, and the effects of this on credit in the economy will need to be measured.

Even though, in the short term, inflation is not to be feared given the intrinsic weakness of domestic and external demand in developed economies, inflation expectations could resurface, favoring cautious behavior with regard to inflation risk.

Rightly or wrongly, the purchase of gold seems to be an easy way to protect against inflation risks.

At the same time, the ECB marked a decisive turning point by committing, under conditions, to buy back the debt of peripheral countries, which will lead to a further increase of its balance sheet;

Similarly, the swelling of the Chinese monetary supply under the effect of strong credit growth will help to push real asset values upwards in relative terms. Gold actually appears to be the physical asset closest to paper currency;

The liquidity injection will need find a way to be invested. In an environment in which investors remain significantly underinvested in equities, gold retains its power of attraction despite the absence of any intrinsic yield. The price increase expectations that have resurfaced in recent weeks are self-fulfilling, as they encourage potential investors to choose gold massively again.

The demand from emerging countries structurally constitutes a support factor for demand and therefore prices.

The conditions are there for gold to return to or even exceed USD 2000/oz over the next six months.