Switzerland just held a public vote over whether to increase its gold holdings to 20% of total foreign reserves. The referendum was voted down on November 30 and it wasn’t even close, which is hardly surprising considering the widespread smear campaign spearheaded by the federal government and central bank. Still, the fact that conversation reached a nationwide vote is encouraging. It’s just one of many examples of how prevailing attitudes toward gold are evolving.

Gold prices rose 3.1% for the month, as prices surged to their highest levels since October after Moody’s downgraded Japan’s credit rating. Although this safe haven buying spurred the rally, tumultuous currency markets also propped up gold prices. This unrest along with Japan’s turmoil also boosted silver prices, which rose a healthy 4.3% over the last 30 days.

That’s the question most Americans ask when the topic of gold comes up in conversation. And it’s the wrong question.  What they should be asking is, “How much gold should I have in my portfolio?”

There are two types of backwardation: money and commodity. Both affect gold. Unlike oil, lumber, or any other commodity, gold carries an interest rate, known as a lease rate. This rate reflects real costs associated with holding gold, including storage, insurance, and forgone interest. Commodities experience backwardation fairly regularly, but it’s considered a phenomenon when it happens to gold—until recently, that is.

Gold extended its losing streak this month, falling 4.3% on the heels of a strengthening dollar and a winding down of the Federal Reserve’s monetary stimulus. Although gold prices have been buoyed at least in part by the announcement of a massive quantitative easing program in Japan, the US dollar has continued its ascension. This is most apparent when you look at the US dollar index, which has appreciated 3.5% over the last 30 days and nearly 10% year to date.

It’s hard to argue that high debt levels are deflationary. And with the current expansion based largely on debt, we can’t expect sustainably higher economic activity to be generated. So what happens if deflation wins? Even if we eventually get inflation, what happens to our gold investments if we first go through a deflationary bust?

After a weak performance over the last month, gold was helped last week by a slight slowdown in the US dollar’s momentum, which left the metal’s price flat for the month. All in all, gold once again confirmed its safe-haven status, as it remains flat even though the S&P 500 was down 5% over the same period.

Conventional wisdom tells us that a strong dollar is bad for gold. The logic is pretty simple: gold is priced in dollars, meaning it becomes more expensive for foreign investors to buy when the dollar appreciates. Precious metals investors need not worry, though. A strong dollar doesn’t look like it’s here to stay.

On the whole, precious metals had a tough month. Although improved physical demand in Asia and safe-haven buying ahead of the two-day US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting have helped buoy prices as of late, a strengthening US dollar pushed both gold and silver down 6.4% and 6.8% respectively over the last 30 days.

Here’s a challenge: see how many mainstream finance websites you can visit before coming across a negative story about gold. I bet you won’t get far. These websites will give you a host of reasons to avoid gold and silver, but their chatter—whether bad or good—rarely extends past these two precious metals. It’s time to look at the overlooked precious metal that is up 16% year to date and fresh off a 13-year high. Let’s turn our attention to palladium.