Gold's Sluggishness Due To Tug Of War?

The Wall Street Journal's David Cottle answers that question with a "yes," as bad economic news and the Eurocrisis battle against unfavorable items for gold like the recent rise in the greenback and the ending of QE2 in about a month. Dennis Gartman believes that the current doldrums are a preface to gold rising again:

"There is a decided lack of 'frenzy' in the gold market at present, and indeed, we find it passing strange that with gold only a few dollars from its all time highs, there is very little if any speculative enthusiasm. Instead, bullish enthusiasm is high, but it is not rising and certainly it is not at 'nosebleed' levels consistent with previous interim peaks," he added.

It remains to be seen if gold can defeat the usual seasonal weakness that creeps in about this time.