Is the 12-year gold bull run finally over?

Investors question whether gold has lost its shine as China growth picks up and US shows signs of recovery.

The recent decline in the gold price and better-than-expected recovery in the US has led some investors to predict a turn in the gold cycle, which would break a 12-year run of gains for the precious metal. Investors have been cutting their holdings in gold equities and exchange-traded funds as the spot price has fallen 5% so far this year to trade below $1,600, well beneath its all-time high of $1,921 hit in September 2011. Managers have been taking action in the short term to ride out the falls. Neil Gregson, manager of the £1.5bn J.P. Morgan Natural Resources fund, has taken the ...