Gold appears to be establishing itself above $1,600 an ounce in a “set-up for a multi-year bull market,” said TD Securities. As of 8:49 a.m. EDT, spot metal was down 60 cents to $1,649.10 an ounce. “Gold is looking to solidify north of $1,600/oz as the Fed's massive QE [quantitative-easing] program has historically been associated with a suppression of real rates,” TDS said. “It is still too early to say if we have entered the recovery phase just yet, with the risk of another containment-induced deflationary shock still elevated, but recent price action has done well to firm upside momentum signals. Looking forward, we continue to see a set-up for a multi-year bull market being cemented, as the market is flooded with monetary and fiscal stimulus, while Fed rates are at the zero bound, which suggests investors will continue to seek gold's warm embrace as real global rates become entrenched in negative territory.”