Respectable follow-through buying due to short covering and a newfound enthusiasm for haven plays buoyed gold today. Gold is off its early highs for the day, however. Silver was not as lucky. It is off by more than 0.5%.

How quickly sentiment changes!

Early in the day, U.S. economic data drove stocks higher and gold lower. At 5 o'clock EDT, gold is now slightly better than even on the day.

If you're inclined to be a nervous investor in gold and silver, this is a perfect time for you to get your ya-ya's out. There are apparently many among precious metals traders who are still betting on a sooner-than-anticipated rise in interest rates from the Fed.

It's always amusing to watch a fundamentals overreaction corrected by an equal and opposite overreaction. It leaves you wondering where the truth is in trading impulses.

Our thought is that traders do not understand the synergy between "jobs created," "the unemployment rate," and "potential Federal reserve actions."

It's always amusing to watch a fundamentals overreaction corrected by an equal and opposite overreaction. It leaves you wondering where the truth is in trading impulses.

Our thought is that traders do not understand the synergy between "jobs created," "the unemployment rate," and "potential Federal reserve actions."

You can celebrate if you’re so inclined: today is Milton Friedman’s birthday (1912 – 2006).

Today we witnessed the equities markets in a virtual meltdown. Equities have now given back the gains of 2014. What predicated this dramatic selloff? Also a perplexing question is why we did not see any flight into the precious metals in unison with today’s dramatic decline in equities.

News of a vigorous rebound in second quarter growth in the U.S. mildly deterred gold prices today, while silver prices slightly regained upward momentum. Usually, 4% growth in a quarter would indicate that an economy is not just on the launch pad, but headed well into orbit.

We are reasonably certain that the Fed will stay the course after the FOMC meetings tomorrow and Thursday. It would be a big, big surprise if tapering weren't cut another $10 billion in bond buying per month and a semi-surprise if interest rates were to be raised.

We will be crossing and recrossing the rivers of Ukraine, Russia, Gaza and Israel. To some extent we are at the mercy of the actions that happen on the ground and in the air.