The metals were mixed over the last week with the gold price up a fraction to $1,939, silver off 2% to $24.75, platinum down 3% to $985, and palladium up 1% to $2,291.

The 1-yr numbers have gold up 11% leading the way, with silver down 2%, platinum down 21%, and palladium 15% lower than a year ago.

It is sometimes difficult to keep the larger picture in focus with day-to-day fluctuations in metals prices. While the Dow Jones Industrial Average remains where it was nine months ago, gold is higher. Also, keep in mind that during the last extended period of inflation (1973-1982, 8.7% annual inflation), stocks, as measured by the Dow, finished 1982 in the same place they started in 1973.

Meanwhile, gold and silver were multiples higher during the same period. Some would point out that finding periods when stocks outperformed gold is possible, which is true.

But it is crucial to compare similar periods to similar periods. We are entering a period of heightened inflation, recession, and stagflation that was bad for stocks and good for precious metals.