Gold was flat until just before the London open on Thursday, then commenced a long, slow slide that continued until the noon hour in New York, with a bottom at $926 before some uninspired late day buying pushed it to a finish at $928.80/oz., down $11.50. For the week, gold lost 1%. Platinum tightly rangebound all day, bouncing between $1180 and $1190, finally coming to rest at $1183/oz., down $16. For the week, platinum dropped 1.2%.

Silver was virtually unchanged two hours into London trading, but fell off into the first hour in New York, briefly dipping below $13.30 before inching back over it and going flat as a pancake the rest of the day to close at $13.35/oz., down 35 cents. For the week, silver skidded 5.1%. (Click here for charts)

The precious metals ended the abbreviated holiday week by stepping back in their recent one-step-forward, one-step-back

Gold held in positive territory until the first hour of New York trading on Tuesday, then really hit the skids, plummeting nearly $20 by late morning before inching forward through the rest of the day, finally finishing at $926.60/oz., down $10.70. Overnight, gold has been trending higher. Platinum had a nice peak just after New York opened, almost making it back past $1200, but its fall was even more precipitous, a nearly $35 plunge that took it all the way back to $1165 before a little later-day buying returned it to $1175/oz., down $8. Overnight, platinum has edged higher.

Silver pushed past $14.10 at the London open, but that was all she wrote, as it dropped slowly to mid-morning in New York, then crashed for fair, losing 50 cents in an hour’s time, before edging just a tad higher through the rest of the day and closing at $13.55/oz., down

Gold was up in the far East on Thursday, declined slowly to late morning in New York, but then really ignited, shooting up nearly $20 by the early Globex, then leveled off to finish a second strong day in a row at $953.90/oz., up $16.70. Overnight, gold has been flat.

Platinum, which was higher in Hong Kong, plummeted from there to late morning New York trading, dropping $25, but then abruptly reversed course and bulled its way back into the green, ending at $1149, up $6. Overnight, platinum is unchanged.

Silver submitted a similar pattern to gold’s, but was up even more sharply, rising nearly 50 cents from intraday low to peak, and closing at $14.55, up 30 cents. Overnight, silver is trending higher. (Click here for charts)

The beat goes on, as the precious metals continue to perform in a stellar manner—with gold at its highest since March

Gold was rangebound all the way from the far East through the Globex on Wednesday, varying between $920 and $930, before finally finishing at $926.10/oz., up $3.80. Overnight, gold has slipped lower. Platinum hit a very slow but steady decline that lasted all day, winding up near its low point at $1112, down $19. Overnight, platinum has fallen off.

Silver peaked in Hong Kong, then fell to mid-morning in New York, bottoming at $13.90 then bounced back to $14.15 near the noon hour, but eased from there, closing at $13.96, down 26 cents. Overnight, silver is sharply lower. (Click here for charts)

It was a very mixed day for the precious metals yesterday, with both platinum and silver sharply lower, but gold holding its own and ending in positive territory. With the usual suspects offering no support at all—oil prices slid, while the dollar strengthened—gold bugs were probably

Gold moved marginally higher by the first hour of trading in New York, fell off until mid-morning, then pushed higher again but not at a very brisk clip, before going flat through the Globex to finish at $916.20/oz., up $6.20. For the week, gold was up 3.4%.

Platinum stayed primarily within the $1140 to $1150 range for the entire day, ending essentially flat at $1147, up $2. For the week, platinum added a solid 5.2%.

Silver was up and down all day in an attempt to breach the $14 barrier, and in the end closed barely short, prolonging its win streak by adding 20 cents to $13.99. For the week, silver shot up a very robust 12%. (Click here for charts)

Though platinum was flat, gold and silver both notched significant gains yesterday, with silver continuing to lead the way, as it has for the past several sessions. The usual

Gold was only marginally higher from Hong Kong through to mid-morning in New York on Thursday, but then it suddenly went vertical until the noon hour, tacking on almost $15 before easing a bit through the Globex to finish at $903.80/oz., up $13.10. Overnight, gold is pushing higher.

Platinum bottomed late in the Hong Kong session, then was up sharply adding about $20 over a two-hour period, then traded wildly up and down the rest of the day but never quite regaining its peak, and ending at $1179/oz., up $10. Overnight, platinum is little changed.

Silver followed gold’s chart exactly, but with an even steeper blastoff that carried it nearly to $12.90 before a slight late-day slump led to a close at $12.82/oz., up 50 cents. Overnight, silver has been flat. (Click here for charts)

It was a very good day for the precious metals yesterday, with silver turning in

Gold was in positive territory until New York opened on Thursday, then sellers took out their big bats and began whacking away, driving it down about $15 by mid-morning, after which it leveled off through the Comex, only to get slammed again on the Globex before finally limping to a finish at $874.30/oz., down $16.30. Overnight, gold has fallen off.

Platinum followed a roughly similar path, though it was not hit as hard in the afternoon, and ended at $1203/oz., down $14. Overnight, platinum has edged higher.

Silver was more of the same, although it got hit much harder and more consistently straight through, with not even a teensy late Globex rally able to put much of a charge into the day, as it was beaten down to a close at $12.22/oz., down 54 cents. Overnight, silver is sharply lower. (Click here for charts)

Anyone who had become accustomed

Gold was up early in the overseas markets, fell off into mid-morning in New York, rallied back to peak at $890 just before the end of the Comex, then declined again through the Globex, finishing at $880.00/oz., down $1.10. Overnight, gold is slightly higher.

Platinum had a decent day, rising into the second hour in New York, before pulling back a little and trading sideways for the rest of the day, ending at $1175/oz., up $12. Overnight, platinum is sharply higher.

Silver traded all day between $12.20 and $12.40, zigging and zagging before closing with a slight gain at $12.26/oz., up 4 cents. Overnight, silver is little changed. (Click here for charts)

It was a very blah day for the precious metals as nothing much showed up to provide a sense of direction, with equities posting mild gains, oil bouncing back over $50, and the dollar static.

The reason why

Gold was in positive territory into the first hour of New York trading on Monday, but then fell off a cliff, dropping almost $30 through the rest of the Comex, before rallying on the Globex to finish at $921.50/oz., down $16.90. Overnight, gold has dropped off.

Platinum peaked in Hong Kong, then dropped steadily until mid-morning, before it turned around and clawed back by about $20 to end at $1059/oz., down $11. Overnight, platinum has slipped lower.

Silver climbed from Hong Kong to mid-morning, peaking near $13.40, but then it too completely hit the skids, falling sharply by about 60 cents before a late mini-rally took it back to close at $12.94/oz., down 39 cents. Overnight, silver is trending lower. (Click here for charts)

The precious metals failed to get any kind of boost as the new week began, and were unable to build on the gains of late last

Gold remained in the doldrums until the New York open on Wednesday, after which it perked up a bit through the rest of the day, but not to any great extent as it finished at $905.90/oz., up $5.30. Overnight, gold is sharply higher.

Except for an equal bump and retreat in the morning New York hours, platinum remained stuck in a very tight range all day, ending near the top of that range at $965/oz., up $4. Overnight, platinum has vaulted higher.

Silver was in the red until the New York open, but moved sharply upward from there to mid-morning, peaking at $12.60 before retracing its way back to a close at $12.54/oz., up 9 cents. Overnight, silver is much higher. (Click here for charts)

If gold turned in a lackluster performance on Tuesday, with the usual suspects lined up pretty much in its favor, then yesterday was the opposite,