Silver sales were up 188% on the previous month, while gold sales were softer, down 19% as metal prices hit new records during a volatile month. Opening the month around USD 4,350, gold breached USD 5,000 very quickly and rallied as high as USD 5,500. At this stage the gold price was up near 30% for the month of January alone, supported by numerous factors including ongoing global instability, uncertainty in the US economy and speculation that the expected US Fed chair nominee would support lowering increase rates. However, right at month end, gold experienced a material sell-off with prices falling more than 10% in ... (full story)