While gold futures prices hit a three-month high Tuesday, investor sentiment dropped to a 4 ½-year low in June, according to BullionVault's monthly Gold Investor Index.

BullionVault operates an online gold exchange. Its Gold Investor Index was 51.2 in June, down from 52.4 in May and the lowest since February 2010.

The index first takes the number of net gold buyers during a month and subtracts the number of net sellers. It divides that total by the number of all gold owners and rebases it so that 50 represents a perfect balance between buyers and sellers.

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"Sentiment towards gold amongst the investing public has scarcely been lower since the metal began making headlines during the financial crisis," Adrian Ash, BullionVault's head of research said in a statement.

"Last month's price jump through $1,300 per ounce deterred new buyers and also saw a sharp rise in the number of sellers."

Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.4 percent to $1,322.13 an ounce by 9:37 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. It reached $1,332.33 on July 1, the highest since March 24. Gold for August delivery declined 0.6 percent to $1,322.80 on the Comex in New York.

Several factors are buoying the precious metal.

"Gold got its initial pop because of Russia, and then Iraq happened," Phil Streible, a senior commodity broker at R.J. O'Brien & Associates, told Bloomberg. "Also, the dovish outlook from the Fed is increasing interest in gold, and we are seeing some investors return."

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