I agree with James Turk that gold is a currency. It does not generate income and is simply a store of value. Demand for gold will rise in times of uncertainty and when fiat currencies, against which it is traded, are being debased by central bank balance sheet expansion. Now central banks have been printing money since the global financial crisis in 2008, so why is gold not soaring into the stratosphere as Turk predicts?
The answer lies with global deleveraging. Central banks are attempting to counter the strong deflationary effect of private sector debt repayment. The inflationary effect of their activities is largely offset by deflationary forces emanating from the GFC. If we compare the performance of gold to the CRB and DJ-UBS Commodity Indices it is clear that most commodities have not risen in tandem with gold and there is little evidence of inflation.
Copper recovered after the GFC but also seems to have hit a ceiling.
Only Brent Crude shows similar price escalation to gold. Nymex WTI Crude is far more subdued.
Without strong inflation, gold is unlikely to continue its meteoric rise. More so if there is a down-turn in crude oil and copper. Watch closely.