Much of the run-up came on anticipation of further buying of debt securities by the Federal Reserve in a bid to push down long-term yields, referred to as the third round of quantitative easing, or QE3.

FORBES: Gold's Recent Pullback Viewed As Correction; Buying Anticipated On Further Weakness

This will probably take the form of a bond buying program using the Emergency Stability Mechanism and the ECB to help push down borrowing costs via both primary and secondary purchases of Spanish sovereign debt.

FORBES: Spanish Bank Stress Test Reveals $76B Capital Short Fall; Path Cleared For Bailout