Source: Financial Times, 16th December 2011

Rumours of the demise of gold have been exaggerated so often in recent years that seizing on its recent slump smacks of recklessness. Taken at face value, its price drop is hardly catastrophic. Gold is down a little more than 16 per cent from the all-time nominal high it reached in September; it remains up nearly 12 per cent year-to-date. That may be less than it delivered in 2008 and 2009, when it rose 25 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively. But it beats nearly any broad equity or fixed income index over one or three years, with the notable exception of US Treasuries.