What's Behind the Gold Price Surge

After spending the summer in the doldrums, the price of gold has started to perk up in September -- enough to push the yellow metal near the $1,000-per-ounce mark. Last week, gold jumped 3.6% in just two days, peaking at $997.80 an ounce on Sept. 3. By the end of the week, it had pulled back slightly -- the December futures contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled $1.60 lower, at $996.10 on Sept. 4.

There's no shortage of rationales that investment strategists and economists have offered for the biggest price spike in gold in six months -- from increased purchases by China's central bank to inflation fears -- but these seem like mostly after-the-fact justifications for what's occurred, according to Philip Klapwijk, chairman of Britain-based metals consulting firm Gold Fields Minerals Service [GFMS].