The Privateer, being Australian, is even more direct in its weekly remarks: "Why is gold going up? It is certainly not in spite of the global mania for bailout programs now sweeping the world. It is because of these programs. The more 'liquid' the global financial powers that be make their money -- by creating it in ever larger swathes -- the more they run the risk that the world starts to look elsewhere for a viable and trustworthy way to exchange goods and services."

The Privateer's invaluable $US 5X3 point and figure chart has now broken above its last downtrend, although its proprietor would like more progress: "This week the chart got up to and just above the second of the two downtrends. The 'poke' above the line which came with Gold's close above $U.S. 945 on Feb. 12 is not yet decisive, a close above $U.S. 960 would be." See Website

But the star of the week was the reported bullion holdings of Spdr Gold Trust. These rocketed a startling 13.7% to 985 tonnes, setting records each day.

GLD is regarded with deep suspicion by the radical gold bugs who think the metal's price is manipulated. But at the least it has to been seen as a measure of the Western Hemisphere investment appetite for gold.

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