The Death of Gold...........or Not

Despite a small rally on Friday, last week was very trying for the few remaining precious metal bulls. Five tonnes of metal dumped on the SGE, plus a surge in volume on COMEX combined to send the gold price down USD $50oz in a matter of minutes. A much lower than expected total gold holdings announcement from China no doubt contributed to the pressure. With commodity prices crashing to 13 year lows, inflation expectations rolling over, Greece 'solved' (cough), the USD strengthening and expectations of an imminent Fed rate hike, it's no surprise gold has pulled back, though we are shocked at how negative sentiment is, with managed money net short gold for the first time a decade. As if being called a 'pet-rock' by the Wall Street Journal wasn't bad enough, article after article forecast lower prices, with the most noticeable headline claiming that last week represented "the Death of Gold". A headline like that can't help but make one think about a certain BusinessWeek magazine cover from 1979, and should be enough to whet any contrarians appetite (VIEW LINK)