The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday, Oct. 22, edition that over the past year, something unusual has occurred with the price of gold. A Financial Times dispatch to the Post reports that gold has reached record levels one after another, seemingly breaking away from its traditional influences, such as interest rates, inflation and the value of the dollar. Additionally, the steady increase in gold prices contrasts sharply with the fluctuations caused by significant geopolitical events. Gold's "all-weather" characteristic signals something that goes beyond economics, politics and higher-frequency geopolitical developments. It captures an increasingly persistent behavioural trend among China and "middle power" countries, as well as others. It is a trend that the West should be paying greater attention to. The march up in price has been relatively linear, with any pullback attracting more buyers. It has occurred despite some wild swings in expected policy rates, a wide fluctuation band for benchmark U.S. yields, falling inflation and currency volatility. Consistent foreign central bank purchases have been an important driver of gold's strength.