Gold price falls below $1,200 an ounce

At the same time, the slowdown in the global economy, prompted central banks across the world to lower interest rates – to historic lows in many cases – in an attempt to try to boost growth.

Analysts said that with interest rates so low, investors have been favouring gold.

However, things have started to change in the past few months.

The US economy has been recovering; as a result, the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that the US central bank will scale back its $85bn a month bond buying programme.

Analysts said that such a move may see interest rates rise again – making gold a less attractive option.

At the same time, the risks surrounding the eurozone crisis seem to have abated as well, which has also hurt gold prices.