In this month’s Markets at a Glance, we present a collection of thoughts on why we think precious metals are a compelling investment now.

The ‘management interview’ is critical.

“The apparent recovery of the last few years has not been confirmed by the data available -- in fact it has been just the opposite."

A closer look at the data suggests that things are not improving and that the US economy remains frail.

'I don’t think I have actually ever seen people so negative and disinterested in the subject, which I think represents one of the greatest buying opportunities in history.'

We believe that the manipulation of gold prices by central banks cannot continue in 2014. Therefore, we expect substantial increases in the price of precious metals as the true shortages become obvious.

Central bankers around the world have made their intentions known about how they plan to manage their foreign exchange reserves, giving investors a rare glimpse into how to manage their own portfolios.

I urge the leaders of the World Gold Council, for the benefit of their own members, to improve the quality of their data and find alternative sources than the GFMS, which paints a misleading picture of the real demand for gold

Recently published data supports our presumption that physical gold was indeed flowing from ETF liquidations with a significant amount heading East.

Owning an asset that is no-one’s obligation and has no ties to the financial system would seem to be prudent at a time like this, so why hasn’t gold performed better?

Unfortunately, it seems that news about the fixing of trillion dollar markets has become mundane.

With the Indian rupee continuing to plumb new lows against the US dollar, it is clear that the Reserve Bank of India is losing its war on gold.