1.   Answering questions after his prepared remarks, Hashimoto said exchange rate instability might encourage Japan to sell some of its U.S. Treasury securities holdings and buy gold.

2.   Because gold is often bought as a hedge against inflation, rising prices indicate some investors see a greater likelihood inflation will accelerate, Igarashi said.

3.   A weaker dollar makes it less expensive for investors to buy gold with the U.S. currency.

4.   Advertisements implored shoppers to buy gold.

5.   Consumers also were cautioned not to dump their investments in favor of buying gold, which usually goes up in value during times of world crisis.

6.   During times of political or economic uncertainty, investors often buy gold as a safe haven.

7.   During times of political or economic uncertainty, some investors buy gold as a safe haven.

8.   Even in a week of global market turmoil when you might have expected investors to buy gold as a safe haven, the price barely recovered.

9.   Gold is often bought as a hedge against inflation, which can erode the returns of fixed-income assets.

10.   Gold is typically bought as a hedge against the effects of rising prices, which can erode the value of fixed income assets such as bonds.