As gold prices firmed on Thursday, the U.S. Senate weighed the issue of pegging the currency to a gold standard. Not surprisingly, the mere mention of gold ruffled the feathers of some Senators.

More on that in a bit. But first, let’s review this week’s price action in the precious metals markets.

As of this Friday morning recording, gold prices check in at $1,583 per ounce – 0.7% higher for the week. Silver is essentially unchanged on the week to trade at $17.79 an ounce. Platinum is off a slight 0.4% since last Friday’s close to trade at $967. And finally, palladium is putting in a weekly advance of $99 or 4.2% to trade at $2,430 per ounce.

The metals have had to contend with a rising U.S. dollar versus foreign currencies, a familiar story. The Dollar index has risen steadily since the beginning of the year and got an added boost from fears over the China virus outbreak.

The USDX is now close to taking out its 2019 high, although it may be getting overbought near term.

We have already seen most major commodities including copper and crude oil come off their coronavirus lows. A reversal in the dollar would likely add fuel to a recovery rally in raw materials. Since economically sensitive commodities got hit much harder than precious metals, they would also likely snap back more strongly – at least until they work off their oversold condition.

Meanwhile, gold continues to serve its function as a core safe-haven – holding quite well. It has stair-stepped modestly higher this year. While succumbing to some selling at the beginning of the month, gold has been far less volatile than other assets.

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