$GOLD is up +$20.10/oz to 738.30 at the open of futures trading, which is catching up to this weekend's increase in spot prices. The spot market for gold is quietly trading at 738.61 at present, after being stuck for hours in a tight 731-737 range.

So, gold this morning is a bit stronger than Friday. Spot silver is 10.14, palladium is 198 and platinum is 836 shortly before 7:00am ET.

Crude Oil ($WTIC) futures are down -$0.65/bbl this morning at 67.16.

The $USD (85.755) is a bit weaker this morning, while the $XEU (128.31) has gained.

The DJIA futures open the week at 9309, which is a very small gain of +11.

Overnight, Asia-Pacific equity markets were strong. Australia (+4.78% to 4173.0), Hong Kong (+2.69% to 14344.4), and India (+5.62% to 10337.7) were higher. Japanese markets were closed. Shanghai was down -0.52% to 1719.8.

In morning trading across the European bourses, there is a follow through on last week’s bullishness, particularly in the energy and basic materials, but these markets are off their earlier highs. The German DAX (+0.47%), French CAC (+0.25%) and UK FTSE 100 (+0.34%) were all higher at 6:45am ET.

Europe is now talking up economic stimulus packages. The bail-outs and job programs out to stimulate the price of gold soon.

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Links & Charts

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International Economics Review

US Economic Calendar.

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International Equity Markets Review

Europe

Here is the latest session data for the bourses of Europe.

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Here is the latest session data for the London stock exchange FTSE.

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Here is the latest session data for the German DAX.

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Here is the latest session data for the French CAC 40.

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Here is the latest session data for the Milan Italy stock exchange MIBTEL.

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Here is the latest session data for the Swiss market index.

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Asia-Pacific

Here is the latest session data for the Asia-Pacific stock exchanges.

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Here is the latest chart for the Japanese Nikkei 225 index.

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Here is the latest chart for the Singapore index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Shanghai Composite index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Hong Kong Hang Seng index .

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Here is the latest chart for the India BSE 30 index .

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Here is the latest chart for the Australian All Ordinaries index .

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US Equity Markets Review

DJIA (interactive) chart

NASDAQ Composite (interactive) chart

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Oil Review

Here is the e-miNY Aug-08 Crude Oil chart.

Interactive Chart of Daily Crude Oil:

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Gold & Precious Metals Review

Spot gold chart for the week

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Spot silver chart for the week

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Forex Review

Here is the chart of the week's trading in the $USD.

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