It has been somewhat of a reversal week for the metals, with gold and silver higher. Gold is up 2.5% to $1,795, and silver up 3/10% to $23.68. Platinum was lower 1.4% to $1,007, and palladium was down 5.6% to $2,504.

For the 1-yr time frame, the trend was reversed, with gold and silver down 10% (gold) and 14.5% (silver), with platinum and palladium higher. Platinum is up 4.6%, and palladium is up 13% from a year ago today.

CNBC and other media is saying that gold is up this week due to concerns about the virus. I think if that’s the case, it is an indirect concern. The more significant economic impact has been related to government action in response to the virus, not the virus itself. I believe more people are concerned about the impact of shutdowns and cancellations, with some municipalities disallowing large sectors of the population from participating in the economy (based on vaccination status).

Up and coming technology company Palantir CEO Alex Carp recently announced that they have exchanged over $50 million of their cash reserves for gold bullion, so far this month. Perhaps they have been watching the Metals Minute market updates.