Another discount week for the metals, with sales being announced across the board.  Gold was down 4.6% to $1,752, silver was marked down 9.4% to $23.60 on the spot price, platinum was off 4.1% to $1,021, and palladium was down 2% to $2,652.

From one year ago today, gold is down 8.4%, silver is off by 5%, while platinum is up 9.1%, and palladium is up 27% year over year.

While those selling paper contracts have been actively pushing gold and silver prices lower, demand for physical metal is steady and increasing worldwide.  The bulk of the selling has little to do with actual metal, while most purchasing does involve the metals.

With a stock market that seems to be topping out, reaching new highs again yesterday, several indicators are signaling a transition to lower markets and higher metals prices.

With so many bargains out there I had difficulty deciding what to purchase this week, but I did purchase metal a couple of times as the price dropped.  With the current and expected rates of inflation being higher than most deposit interest rates, I believe it is prudent to convert a portion of paper savings into precious metals whenever possible - especially when on sale.