A tough week for precious metals with a strong USD (closing at 104.2) and rising US 10-year treasuries up 11 basis points on the week to close at 3.81%. Gold closed at US$1,947/oz, down 1.5% for the week or around US$125 lower than its highs from a few weeks ago. Short covering has seen a bounce in the gold price to around US$1,957/ounce mid-week. Silver finished at US$23.23/oz, down 2.2% by the Friday close. Platinum closed down 3.9% to US$1,022/oz while palladium was off 6.2% to US$1,396/oz for the week. The big winner on the markets last week was the NASDAQ, up 2.5%, while volatility as measured by the VIX Index ... (full story)