GOLD

In the precious metals markets this week . . . GOLD: spot gold prices opened the week at $1,112 . . . traded as high as $1,127 on Thursday and as low as $1,102 on Tuesday . . . and the AM settlement price on Thursday was $1,126, up $14 for the week. Gold support is now anticipated at $1,122, then $1,108, and then $1,097 . . . with resistance anticipated at $1,128, then $1,144, and then $1,165. SILVER: spot silver prices opened the week at $17.26 . . . traded as high as $17.96 on Thursday and as low as $17.23 on Monday . . . and the AM settlement price on Thursday was $17.88, up $.62 for the week. Silver support is now anticipated at $17.67, then $17.52, and then $17.29 . . . and resistance anticipated at $18.05, then $18.40, and then $18.87. PLATINUM: spot platinum prices opened the week at $1,617 . . . traded as high as $1,669 on Thursday and as low as $1,613 on Tuesday . . . and the AM settlement price on Thursday was $1,667, up $50 for the week. Platinum support is now anticipated at $1,661, then $1,649, and then $1,574 . . . and resistance anticipated at $1,685, then $1,704, and then $1,738. PALLADIUM: spot palladium prices opened the week at $465 . . . traded as high as $492 on Thursday and as low as $463 on Monday. . . and the AM settlement price on Thursday was $489, up $24 for the week. Palladium support is now anticipated at $483, then $467, and then $450 . . . and resistance anticipated at $495, then $502, and then $517. QUOTES OF THE WEEK: From Congressman Ron Paul, in his weekly ''Texas Straight Talk'' column on his House of Representatives website on March 29th: The Federal Reserve finds itself in an unprecedented and unenviable position. To keep up with government spending and corporate irresponsibility, it has increased the monetary base by nearly $1.5 trillion since September of 2008. Excess bank reserves remain at historically high levels, and the Fed's balance sheet has ballooned to over $2 trillion. If the Fed pulls this excess liquidity out of the system, it risks collapsing banks that rely on the newly created money. However, if the Fed fails to pull this excess liquidity out of the system we risk tipping into hyperinflation. This is where central banking inevitably has led us. The idea that a handful of brilliant minds can somehow steer an economy is fatal to economic growth and stability. The Soviet Union's economy failed because of its central economic planning, and the U.S. economy will suffer the same fate if we continue down the path toward more centralized control. We need to bring back sound money and free markets - yes, even in healthcare- if we hope to soften the economic blows coming our way. . . . and from Alan Reynolds, in an editorial on the ''Opinion'' page of The Wall Street Journal on March 30: ''In short, the belief that higher tax rates on the rich could eventually raise significant sums over the next decade is a dangerous delusion, because it means the already horrific estimates of long-term deficits are seriously understated. The cost of new health-insurance subsidies and Medicaid enrollees are projected to grow by at least 7% a year, which means the cost doubles every decade - to $432 billion a year by 2029, $864 billion by 2039, and more than $1.72 trillion by 2049. If anyone thinks taxing the rich will cover any significant portion of such expenses, think again. The federal government has embarked on an unprecedented spending spree, granting new entitlements in the guise of refundable tax credits while drawing false comfort from phantom revenue projections that will never materialize.'' . . . and from Steve Forbes, editor-in-chief of Forbes, in his ''Fact and Comment'' column in the April 12th edition of the magazine: ''With an ice-cold disdain for public opinion and an obsession worthy of Lenin, President Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi rammed ObamaCare through the House by unprecedented parliamentary trickery, bribery and deceit. The President has thereby poisoned the national political well. But the health care fight has just begun. Substantive constitutional court challenges are coming. Congressional elections are around the corner, and there's growing opposition that wants to undo what Obama has just done. The President will discover that, ultimately, the American people's tenacity will overwhelm his - and he will be a failed President. But the cost of his public-be-damned attitude will be immense.'' . . . and from Pham-Duy Nguyen, in a piece posted on Bloomberg.com on March 31st: ''Gold rose, heading for the sixth straight quarterly gain, on investor demand for an alternative to the dollar and other currencies. The greenback slipped as much as 0.7 percent against a basket of major currencies as U.S. companies eliminated more jobs than forecast in March. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 raw materials climbed for the third straight day. The sixth quarterly increase would mark gold's longest rally since 1979. The metal priced in euros rose to a record this month.'' ''Gold has rallied as central banks and governments maintained low borrowing cost and spent trillions of dollars to stimulate economies. The benchmark U.S. interest rate has been zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008. Gold imports by India, the world's biggest consumer, jumped by more than five times this month on demand by jewelers for wedding-season sales, according to the Bombay Bullion Association. The season runs from late March to early May and from November to December.'' This is not a recommendation to buy or sell.

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