Typically an investor’s last refuge in times of economic strife, gold has performed strongly over the past few years. Gold prices increased 30% in 2010, peaking at $1,431 per ounce in November. However, some analysts are beginning to ask whether gold bugs are due a squashing, especially if policymakers have to increase interest rates later in the year.

John Paulson, among the most successful hedge fund managers of the past decade, is one of those understood to have profited the most from a significant trade in gold, making $1.5bn since the beginning of 2009. Paulson, known for making $20bn during the sub-prime crisis, invested $2.7bn into SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold exchange-traded fund, at the start of 2009. Since then, shares in the ETF have risen 54%.