At his widely anticipated address from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank stands ready to use additional tools to help the U.S. economy in its recovery, but provided little direction as to further Fed action.

With so much attention focused on this month’s dramatic market fireworks, including a gold price at record levels, the steady accumulation of gold by central banks globally (one of the drivers of gold’s appreciation over the last few years) has temporarily moved off the radar screen. However, this trend is continuing: South Korea has just completed purchases that almost triple the country’s gold reserves.

A new report from Oxford Economics looks at historical gold prices along with the current dynamics of the gold market. The report, titled “The impact of Inflation and Deflation on the Case for Gold,” takes an in-depth look at what influences gold prices metal in light of its recent historic price rise, noting a changing perception of gold as an asset in today’s economic environment.