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Gold's price is coming off a four-month high and is up more than 11% in 2014, reflecting several factors breaking in its favor. Let's recount them.

1. No more gigantic gold ETF exodus. The tens of billions of dollars in outflows from SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and other funds such as iShares Gold Trust (IAU) last year were the clearest sign of sour investment appetite. This trend has stopped. More than that, it's turned ever so slightly around.

SPDR Gold Trust has put together a streak of three straight days of inflows; the 803.7 tons of gold held by the trust as of last night were 5.5 tons bigger than where the ETF finished 2013.

2. Hedge funds have stopped selling; some are even buying. When even John Paulson cuts his gold stake by more than half -- that happened last year -- there's a problem. It's not happening these days, though. Regulatory data shows users of gold futures and options lately are moving back in. Take away the aggressive hedge-fund sellers and prices have more breathing room.

3. Chinese gold demand keeps humming along. For all the worry about weak buying from India and slower emerging markets demand -- a subject this blog has explored -- China is proving a gold-buying powerhouse. Here's how Commerzbank's strategists put it this morning:

The ongoing high level of Chinese gold demand played a major part in January's price increase, as the trading figures between Hong Kong and China revealed when they were published yesterday. According to the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong government, China imported 90 tons of gold net from Hong Kong last month. Although this was five tons less than in December, it was more than three times the year-on-year figure. If China were to import 90 tons of gold every month in 2014, the import volume would almost reach last year's record level.

4. Traders feel they have a bead on the Federal Reserve's policy maneuvers. Whether they're justified is up for debate, but traders feel good about the Fed. You see this in strong early-year bond-market gains. If bonds are rising and rates are falling, there's much less pressure on gold, which suffered amid the mid-2013 interest-rate spike.

5. Technical considerations and sentiment. Gold is now ahead of the 200-day moving average in both dollars and euros, which means investors who care about such things are likelier to buy. No, not every technician likes what he sees. Ned Davis Research's Neil Leeson argues sentiment has shifted too far, too fast. Here's what he told my colleague Johanna Bennett last week:

Investors can remain optimistic on gold just as long as they were pessimistic (nearly all of 2013). Our mantra is to go with the crowd until it reaches an extreme, and then starts to reverse. Trend, flows, and momentum are all positive; sentiment is really the only indicator suggesting caution.

Checking in on gold ETFs Wednesday morning, SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) and Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) are down by about half a percentage point in premarket activity. The leveraged Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bull 3X Shares (NUGT) and Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bear 3X Shares (DUST) are moving by about 2% apiece and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) is down 1%.