Central Banks will manipulate gold as long as they need to in order to benefit their local currency. The US is no exception. In this article from Numismaster, Patrick Heller points out that an imbalance is now in place that may last through 2010 but is not sustainable. It offers yet another good opportunity for buyers of gold bullion and (silver and platinum) to purchase at bargain prices. Gold is not through with its run yet. Here is a quote from the article:

A recently released chart prepared by Bud Conrad of Casey Research shows that the net purchases and redemptions of U.S. long term debt has dropped to near zero so far in 2009. U.S. imports have fallen sharply this year, leading to a much smaller trade deficit, but the net demand for U.S. long-term debt has fallen far more.

In the past week, the U.S. dollar index against a market basket of other currencies has risen to a multi-month high. It is obvious that this is not happening from trading in a free market. The rise is artificial and simply not sustainable. In my judgment, it could potentially drag out through the end of January 2010 at the longest. In the meantime, this rise in the value of the dollar has helped hold down gold and silver prices. More at Numismaster