Although gold prices have gone down a lot, it's still hard to call it an end, investor Jim Rogers said in Beijing on June 1 at the launch ceremony of the Chinese version of his book Street Smarts.

He said that it is rare that gold prices have been on an up trend for 12 years and it's time for a correction, which may last for one to two years.

However, he said he has held gold for many years and has not sold any. He added that he bought a little bit of gold last Thursday.

Hong Rong, acting president of Shanghai Dazhihui Co, a financial information and software provider, said gold is a typical tool for speculation and not for investment.

He explained that when there are no good products for investment, gold becomes an option, but when the economy is doing well, people will forget about gold.

Hong said nowadays young people do not like wearing gold accessories and think of gold as something to be kept in a box.

The gold price in Hong Kong went up HK$140 to open at HK$13,160 per tael on Tuesday, according to the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society.

The price is equivalent to $1,423.55 a troy ounce, up $15.15 at the latest exchange rate of $1 against HK$7.76.