Let’s start with the U.S. dollar today. It fell against major currencies and helped put a tiger in the tank of precious metals trading. It pushed the entire complex up by a third of a percentage point all on its own.

On fears regarding a Fed rate increase gold tumbled in regular trading, a move down that was moderated by a substantially weaker U.S. dollar today.

A stronger dollar – what else is new? – helped push gold lower today. But it was regular trading that pressed down on prices driven by the fear that the Fed is about to boost interest rates.