As reported here last week, the New York NYMEX market (where Gold futures are traded) has not returned to normal trading hours and does not expect to do so until Monday, November 5. that being said, Gold has returned to "normal" trading. The U.S. has embarked on a war, and the $US spot future Gold price has gone down.
As you can see from the charts on the right, it hasn't gone down far, a little over half of the rise caused by the events of 9/11 have been given back. There was a $US 3.10 recovery on Friday (Oct. 12) though, and both the longer-term charts here (the weekly bar and the point and figure) have their post April 2001 uptrends perfectly intact.
In the last Gold price "spike" in May this year, Gold had given back all its gains in just over a week. But there was no war in May, and there is one now. In wars, all financial markets are politically "managed", even the ones which ostensibly trade legitimately most of the time. But as the "action" of the past month shows, an overtly political commodity like Gold is NEVER allowed to trade "freely".
We are watching financial manipulation in ALL the paper markets, including the Gold paper markets. The monetary "authorities" have decided they have no other choice. We don't know how long it will take. We DO know that a new BULL market in Gold requires a $US 300 plus PAPER (or "spot future) Gold price.
(The Gold Bottom This Week - October 5)
For quite some time, many people have been tossing around the question of which would break first, the 10000 floor on the Dow or the $US 300 ceiling on Gold. Of course, the past month has given us the answer to that question, although Gold did trade very briefly at $US 300 on September 14, before the market was closed down for "technical" reasons.
Right now, U.S. stock markets are still rising, despite an economic situation which will, in time, guarantee they go MUCH lower. Gold has had a correction this week, for no discernible economic reason. The problem for the U.S. political leadership is that this time, Americans are not watching this war on TV, confident that it will have no possible effect on them.
The function of Gold remains exactly the same as it has been for many years. Since it cannot be directly used as money, it must be used as a way to safeguard wealth. Right now, most investors are more concerned with physical safety than they are with the safety of their wealth. That will change, inevitably. And that will be Gold's next push towards $US 300.