Fifth, they cannot be seen as taking a biased approach to sovereign debt risks, a hard stance on Europe (downgrading the one country after another) and a soft on the US. Already, a number of European countries are pushing for the creation of European credit agencies that would threaten the credit agency oligopoly.

FORBES: Why Investors shouldn't ignore Credit Agency Warnings

Analysts also said gold is underpinned by ongoing European debt issues, a continuation of central-bank buying after Bank of Korea purchases, plus still-soft U.S. economic data that means continued loose monetary policy and perhaps even more stimulus.

FORBES: Gold Underpinned By Downgrade Worries, Economy, European Debt Issues, Central-Bank Buying