Here, I think the prospects for the gold market can best be described in much the words that tended to be used in my own personal career performance assessments by my superiors over the years: in the medium term, the fundamentals look quite promising, but in the short run, performance has been erratic and the outlook is uncertain.
If one looks at the fundamentals, I think a good reason for being positive about the medium term - and a factor that is sometimes not given sufficient attention - is that gold has the benefit, uniquely so far as I am aware, of enjoying demand from four separate markets: it is a core ingredient in high-quality artistic artefacts, notably jewellery; it has applications in industrial production; it is a universal and long-standing outlet for private financial investment; and it is a monetary asset.