Gold price bulls definitely had a lump of coal under the tree for Christmas after the near bear market performance last month. But like many Americans they promptly returned that lump of coal for something better. A snap back rally. Citi Bank analyst Tim Fitzpatrick just released a research note saying the gold price correction has run its course.

In the note he did caution it would not be calm sailing to his price target of $2400 an ounce. He says that the metal could drop to $1550 before turning and rocketing higher. Though judging by the intraday numbers it looks like it wants to head to $2400 sooner rather than later. Gold prices are currently spiking over $20 an ounce. He further noted that is gold was to have a weekly close below $1535 then it could mean a deeper correction.

Continued global economic nervousness is helping buoy the metal. Add in the potential for a war in the Middle East with Iran this year and you have all the trappings of a sustained rally. The prospects of conflict with Iran will be ratcheted up today after Europe agreed in principle to ban Iranian oil imports.

Noted gold bull Max Keiser is definitely on the bandwagon of championing the metal past $2000. He’s on a vendetta against what he calls paper bugs. Keiser maintains that the price of gold and silver are heavily manipulated by large banks such as JPMorgan. If prices were based off physical demand and not paper manipulation, prices would be higher than they are now.

A contrarian view comes from Jim Rogers, a noted commodity trader. He thinks gold prices will come back down to earth, possibly to $1200. After 11 years of near constant rallies, he thinks now is the time to a sizable pullback in the metal. His big push now is for investors to look into agriculture. While he stills sees the value of gold as a hedge, he thinks owning physical land is a good investment against problems that could arise with a EU breakup or further economic downturns.

Overall in the precious metals space, investors should expect one thing. Volatility. With the markets constantly whipsawing back and forth it stands to reason the commodity markets will follow suit.