In June of this year, the price of gold hit a three year low. Since April, many financial experts have been shunning the precious metal, writing and speaking about the end of gold, selling off their gold, and advising people like you to do the same.

But a funny thing has happened in the past few weeks. Gold is up 13% from where it was during the June low, and some investment experts are voicing their confidence in gold again.

The gold rally is supported in part by growing demand in China and other eastern countries. Gold consumption in China was up 54% during the first six months of this year as compared to last year. Physical gold is in high demand, and has been for much of this year. On the other hand, paper gold (GLD) has seen a lot of sell offs as a result of dropping prices and market panic.

However, recently paper gold has shown signs of life as well, which is a good indicator of gold’s rebound in general. Holdings in gold ETF’s recently rose by two metric tons, the first increase in over two months. There is also talk about how gold’s price can realistically reach $1,400 an ounce in the not-so-distant future. Just a few weeks ago, we were discussing how $1,300 an ounce is a significant number from a psychological standpoint, so if $1,400 becomes reality, gold is definitely headed in the right direction.

One of the hardest things to do for writers, reporters, or advisors is to hold your position, even when the trend is going against you. For most of this year it’s been easy to jump on the anti-gold bandwagon, because the metal’s performance has been underwhelming at best. The same holds true for investors; one of the toughest aspects of investing in anything is to hold onto it when the price is dropping. You get pressured to sell before you lose even more value. Those who have stuck with gold this year are surely breathing a few sighs of relief with the recent uptick, but gold should be thought of as a long term investment anyway. And like any other long term investment, you have to expect periods of decline. The trick is to not panic, because the valleys just make the peaks that much sweeter.