Investors should be "backing up the truck" to purchase gold if they believe the Federal Reserve's massive bond-buying program will continue for another year, Gamco strategist Howard Ward told CNBC on Monday.
"The only reason to be out of gold right now is if you really think quantitative easing is going to end this year," Ward said in a "Squawk Box" interview. "If you think there is another 12 months of quantitative easing, I wouldn't be selling gold. You should probably be backing up the truck to buy gold."
At one point, gold prices were down more than $200 in two sessions.The precious metal plunged through the level of $1,400 an ounce Monday for the first time since March 2011.
Among the reasons are concerns that Cyprus will have to sell gold to help finance a $13 billion international bailout and questions of whether that would set a precedent for other European nations that may seek assistance.
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The countries "shouldn't sell the gold," Ward said. "What they should do is sell gold-backed bonds, which would have instant credibility in the marketplace and might be a very helpful way of dealing with their debt problems."
The doom and gloom in the gold market was encapsulated on CNBC's "Squawk Box" earlier Monday by Dennis Gartman, editor of The Gartman Letter. "There are a lot of people throwing up their hands. Throwing positions overboard. Panic is everywhere."
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