Safe-haven buying erupted today in the gold-buying market as the already tense situation in Ukraine boiled over and the country appeared to be on the brink of civil war.

The flash point has become Odessa. Odessa is important because it is Ukraine's port on the Black Sea and is at the heart of an ethnically mixed region composed of Ukrainians, Russians, Tartars and Georgians.

After being cuffed around for much of the week, including early today, gold fought back with a vengeance. The reasons are contradictory and a little confusing.

Yes, indeed, there was renewed violence today in Ukraine, and the tensions seemed to be spreading and intensifying. Those facts alone can only explain some of the rise in gold.

After being cuffed around for much of the week, including early today, gold fought back with a vengeance. The reasons are contradictory and a little confusing.

Yes, indeed, there was renewed violence today in Ukraine, and the tensions seemed to be spreading and intensifying. Those facts alone can only explain some of the rise in gold.

Well, actually you can argue with facts, but in the case of economic data, they'll only call you a crazy fool.  

If we believe the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy stalled in the first quarter of this year, scantly growing by 0.1%. Maybe it will be revised upward to a more robust 0.2%? You get the picture.

Equipoise is one of those $2 words that's really simple and elegant.  

And it reflects exactly where we are today in the gold market fundamentally. Forces are almost perfectly balanced, watchers are watching. Like the moment when a trapeze artist seems to attain weightlessness and we are all breathless.

Bigger-than-expected gains in existing home sales helped push gold down today.

A report from the NAR (National Association of Realtors) showed contracts for the purchase of existing homes increased 3.4% in March, topping estimates that foresaw a stagnant to slightly up market.  

A number of things are going on today that might be moving gold.

The usual suspects are: the Ukrainian crisis; the upcoming FOMC meeting; and pending payrolls reports reflecting progress or regression in April.

But let's talk about the big slide in equities today. And let's start with a quote from Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues."

This is the Daily report as it is displayed to subscribers of our daily service - Yesterday we said, "We're thinking that the Russians are speaking foolishly while acting wisely. So far, anyway."

Yesterday we said, "We're thinking that the Russians are speaking foolishly while acting wisely. So far, anyway."

Today we'd like to augment that, since some of the driving force behind gold's bump up is due to the Ukrainian crisis.