"Search volumes on Google for keywords related to precious metals are down on average about two-thirds over the last 14 years," the CEO of bullion trader Sharps Pixley said this week.

"In short, gold is struggling to find friends."

He said the gold market was small but mighty yet was "off the radar" for many journalists, and echoed Oscar Wilde's words that the only thing worse than being talked about was not being talked about.

Norman noted Bitcoin had stolen some of gold's headlines of late but said the precious metal had been trapped in a narrow trading range and been unresponsive to geopolitical events, leaving "little to write about".

"If 35 years in gold has taught me anything, it is that current conditions resonate with the market of the late ‘70s and late ‘90s right before the market exploded higher - but much patience is required because if history is a guide, then it will happen precisely when you least expect it," he concluded.

The Bloomberg graph below charts the spot gold price, which was trading at US$1,340 an ounce earlier today, over the past five years.