On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: five gold rings, which turned out to be much more expensive than a year ago. The key investment question is whether they will be worth even more by the time next Christmas comes around.

New York gold futures closed at $2,062.40 an ounce Friday, ending the year with a 13.34% gain and very near the record close of $2,081.90 reached Wednesday. This snaps a two-year losing streak.