The current financial crisis has delivered the perfect conditions for the price of gold to rise over the next year or two, believes Leon Esterhuizen, equity analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

He points out that, historically, banking crises have tended to be hugely deflationary, as interest rates are cut aggressively and for extended periods.

"We expect the Federal Reserve to ease further in order to turn market sentiment away from pricing in low or no growth, which would be reflected in a low long bond yield."

Ultimately, this would be likely to lead to dollar weakness - which is beneficial to US exports but heightens the risk of steep inflation, Mr Esterhuizen says.

"If economic growth rapidly rebounds, the gamble will have paid off. If not, be prepared for an even bigger collapse in a year or two from now. Given current conditions, the US has little option but to take that bet."

He adds that Europe will converge with the US in terms of cutting rates, strengthening the case for an extended period of rock-bottom real rates.

Finally, oil could play a key role, as recent efforts by producers to reduce output might leave crude prices higher than many expect.

"If this is the case, inflation will most certainly be rising in an environment where rates are being cut. This is gold price heaven - declining real rates or even negative real rates will drive the gold price much higher."