I been guessing that our old buddy ..Woozlecat is one of the prime culprits here..I hear he has the gold in a dirty old hockey sock he keeps under his bed..

But any one thinking of sneaking up on him and stealing his gold better think twice..that old trapper is so mean and ugly he would have your scalp hanging on his belt before you got withing 1/2 a mile of his stash..

Anyway..looks like Alto may move today..and it is early and the bids are building..the close tonight is what is important..

FRom Kitco..

Gold has so far been immune to the financial crisis except when dollar strengthened which made investments in gold less attractive. Gold hit a record high of $1,030.80 an ounce on March 17 and slipped to below $740 on Sept. 11 as the dollar rose and inflation worries receded.

One of the reasons behind the commodity prices surge in recent times has been the fall in value of dollar which made commodities priced in U S currency cheaper for holders of other currencies. But the dollar has staged a recovery as currency markets realized banking sector problems were contagious and would not be confined to the United States.

Meanwhile, Financial Times has reported that investors in gold are demanding “unprecedented” amounts of bullion bars and coins and moving them into their own vaults as fears about the health of the global financial system deepen. It quoted Jeremy Charles, London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Chairman,as saying that the demand was unprecedented and that refineries were unable to supply the required bars. Investors in some countries were paying a premium of $25 per ounce over London spot price to secure those scarce bars.