In a note to clients, Macquarie securities analyst, Steven Harris, noted that “gold sentiment has started to rebound from its lows but remains well below previous peaks, indicating gold could run significantly further before sentiment becomes frothy and too much speculative money has entered the sector.”

Mr. Harris, who has been correctly bullish on gold and the precious metals space over the past few years, reiterated his $2,000 12-18 month price target.  He cited the sovereign debt issue as being a key driver of gold in “the months and years ahead,” noting that the issue is much larger than “a few fringe nations in Europe.”