Shaking Hands With A Snake

It is ironic that on a day when Tsar Vladimir Putin is shaking hands with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, gold is deriving strength from the crisis atmosphere in the eastern section of Ukraine.

Of course it is no wonder that tensions are rising. U.S. officials close to the situation have said a few large mouthfuls:

The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, tweeted late Monday: "The new columns of Russian tanks and armor crossing into Ukraine indicates a Russian-directed counteroffensive may be underway."

National Security adviser Susan Rice, also in a tweet, said that the Russian actions amount to significant escalation.

Additionally, on the same day that a Russian "aid convoy" reportedly entered southeastern Ukraine, the office of Vice President Joseph Biden released a readout of his conversation with Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili. In it, Biden "underscored his support for Georgia's NATO membership aspirations." And we are talking about the former Soviet republic, which, only in 2008, Russia invaded.

This will put another burr under Putin's saddle. Russia is playing a short game and the West is playing the long game. One more unacceptable act by the Russians will find them completely embargoed by the U.S., E.U. and all allied countries.

Astoundingly, though, the price of natural gas fell on world markets today. Can anyone say the word "glut"? Crude was up a half a percentage point on mild concerns about on-hand reserves.

The S&P nabbed its first-ever close above 2000. The other New York exchanges inched up as well.

Dollar strength sapped some of the $5.00+ rise in gold today. People are still betting on that rate rise.

As always, wishing you good trading,