As of midafternoon, West Texas Intermediate is up around 4.5% with Brent North Sea Crude following closely behind.

This is because reports are saying there is an alleged deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia in the run up to Doha this weekend. Yet, Iran has already said it will attend the meeting though it will not talk cuts or freezes in production.

Today’s big news is coming from gold and the rest of the precious metals complex.

Gold is up 1.35% and silver is up 3.50%. Platinum higher by 2.25% and palladium is bringing up the rear with a 1.00% gain.

Much of the action is chart based, which will be discussed in our video today and in Market Forecast. Oil is strong; equities are modestly higher.

The oil gods must be crazy. West Texas Intermediate was down, then, up; down and finally up as the weekends, with prices rising 8.00% for the week. The vast majority of that rise came today.

All eyes are on the yen, which has become far too strong for the good of Japan and perhaps for the world. It is not only the strengthening of the yen against the U.S. dollar, in particular, but the astronomically fast pace of the rise that is scaring the financial world.

Despite an impressive surge in oil of almost 5.00%, today saw only a mild risk-on sentiment in other markets.

OK… which is it?

Is the U.S. economy at a standstill as some data-mongers are saying because the huge, hole-filled umbrella called “growth” is hovering slightly above zero?

Or is the U.S. economy booming because we are adding 200,000 to 220,000 jobs per month while there are still 5.5+ million job openings?

Oddly enough,  important indicators in all markets fell, as money pulled back to reconnoiter about the Federal Reserve, interest rates and the U.S. economy in general.

March was another strong month for the U.S. labor market, as jobs and wage growth increased more than expected.

There were 215,000 new nonfarm payrolls, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. February’s job growth data was revised upward by 3,000 people to 245,000.

Continued dollar weakness and buying in an oversold market sent gold, silver and platinum higher today. Palladium sat out the recovery from yesterday’s surprise drop in precious metals.

Yesterday, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen suggested that conditions were not quite right for the U.S. central bank to consider another interest rate rise very soon.

Today, the private jobs data firm, ADP, said that 200,000 new positions were added in the non-governmental sector in March.