Gold bugs are arriving at the end of both a year and an extraordinary decade. Precious metals prices had a roller coaster ride over the past ten years and finished mostly higher despite plenty of pain.

• Gold was priced at $1,096 on January 1, 2010.
• Silver opened the decade at $16.85, then spiked to over $49.00/oz before collapsing under $14… only to finish the decade around $18.
• Palladium enjoyed an extraordinary run higher from $406/oz to all-time highs at nearly $2,000 late this year.
• Platinum stumbled and fell, dropping from $1,467/oz ten years ago to under $1,000 today.

Metals prices reflected three overarching stories in markets…

The decade past was dominated by central planning, crooked bankers, and exploding debt at all levels.

Metals investors are wondering just how much longer this game can continue. Policy makers and the Wall Street elite will have their work cut out for them if they seek to stay the course with another ten years of exponential debt growth and micro-managed markets. There are, however, no signs they intend to change direction.

Ten years ahead is a long way to see, but the coming year could look a lot like what we see in the rear-view mirror.

There was a question about whether the Federal Reserve would actively foment a recession in order to undermine President Trump’s chances for reelection. Stock prices were tanking a year ago as the stimulus-addicted markets suffered withdrawal of Fed liquidity.

That question was answered in 2019 when officials appeared to have caved to pressure from the President and from the markets.

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