The gold market is not a traditional mineral commodity market where one is able, under certain assumptions and limitations, to analyze supply/demand relationships and to make reasonable forecasts regarding future prices and absorption rates for a selected metal. While fundamentals play a role gold is most often valued in terms of an investment instrument or other intangibles including its attraction as a “safe haven”, especially at times of global economic upheaval.

Primary gold producers, mining companies, add just a couple of percent of gold to the overall accumulated gold inventory annually, and thus can barely predict, not to say control or influence gold prices.