Gold on the move, but long-term doubts remain

Gold bar and coins
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Gold is up around 4 percent in six trading days, drawing some short-term traders into the metal. The long-term outlook however, remains very uncertain.

"Although gold prices have been choppy lately, for the most part they have managed to remain above the $1,075 per ounce level that smart money commercial hedgers have for months been identifying as a value area," Asbury Research strategist John Kosar wrote in a note to clients this week.

Similarly, recent day-to-day asset flows into bullion, based on the total assets invested in SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), the world's largest physically backed gold ETF, may be starting to stabilize and expand, Kosar noted.

Smart investors are circling gold miners, hinting that the down move in the precious metal could be over. Wednesday billionaire activist investor landed two seats on Freeport-McMoRan's board, sparking a 10 percent rally in the stock.