Gold — Catch It if You Can

Gold and silver surged this week on a sudden increase in demand. In European trade this morning, gold was $2167, a new record and up $85 from last Friday’s close, while silver at $24.49 was up $1.18. Comex volumes in both contracts were heavy, but the startling increase was in gold’s Open Interest, which has surged by 100,000 contracts since 20 February:

Comex deliveries have also soared. In the four days of this week so far, 1,056 gold contracts have stood for delivery, making the total this ...