While gold may have rebounded 4.7 percent from the four-year low it hit earlier this month, Nicholas Vardy, chief investment officer at Global Guru Capital, isn't optimistic about the precious metal's future.
"Gold today is caught in a perfect storm likely to keep its price in check," he writes on MarketWatch.com.
On Monday, December gold futures settled at $1,183.50 on the Comex after touching a four-year low of $1,130.40 Nov. 7.
So why is the metal in trouble?
"First, gold thrives when the news is bad. And contrary to gold bugs' predictions, the U.S. economy has not imploded," Vardy says. GDP grew 3.5 percent annualized in the third quarter, and many economists expect an expansion of at least 3 percent in the fourth quarter.
"Second, the much-feared hyperinflation brought on by quantitative easing never came to pass," he writes. Consumer prices rose just 1.7 percent in the 12 months through September, and most economists expect that trend to continue.
"Third, interest rates are now more likely to rise than fall," Vardy says. Economists' consensus forecast is for the Federal Reserve to begin raising rates around mid-2015.
CNBC contributor Ron Insana also is bearish on gold. "If I were a betting man, and sometimes I am, the long-term chart of gold suggests that the old high in gold of $800 an ounce, could be its new low," he writes on CNBC.com.
"In the absence of a full-scale geopolitical crisis, economic collapse, or other 'black swan' event, there is no good reason to hold gold."
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