"Gold rises with inflation and in times of crisis, like we have today; and, as a result, many countries are buying gold," says Mary Anne and Pamela Aden.

The long-standing resource sector expert and co-editors of The Aden Forecast explain, "They know it's the ultimate currency and gold is again taking its place in the global monetary system, as it has for thousands of years.

"The actions of the world's central banks tell the story. At the very least, this is going to keep upward pressure on gold in the years ahead.

"Important market bottoms are often very sharp and quick; long term tops, on the other hand, are typically more muted," says Curtis Hesler. "They usually roll over. As prices weaken, the Street - not yet bearish - will buy into initial weakness. This can cause volatile choppy action not unlike what we have seen over the last few weeks."

The editor of the Professional Timing Service continues, "The averages are sporting oversold readings, which you can see from the McClellan Oscillator chart below. However, bear markets tend to get oversold and stay there.

"Upside rallies will be brief and muted. Bottom line, we may see more erratic trading, but all the evidence points toward the next sustained trend being lower for financial/paper assets.

Mary Anne and Pamela Aden are among the advisory world's top authorities on metals and resources.

In a recent Q&A session, the editors of The Aden Forecast answer the most common questions that they are asked by readers as to the current state and future outlook for the precious metals markets.

In addition, the sisters answer what they say is the most frequent question they receive: "What is the best way to buy gold." Here, they offer a review of five strategies for investing in gold, including their top picks among stocks, closed-end funds and ETFs.