Rumor is that the gold etf's are LENDING gold to the Fed and BOE for them to lease out to help supress the price.
Otherwise, 1/2 of the world's total gold production has gone to the etf this year so far, which doesn't make any sense at all with the price going nowhere and central banks printing money and credit with wild abandon.
Whats odd on the other side is that as the stock market fear trade ended, gold didn't sell off much.
I have no expectation of $1200 gold in 2009, but if it gets there I'll be very much richer as a result if the dollars its measured in still have the same purchasing power as they do today. Nothing like measuring with a ruler made of rubber band dollars.