Good morning, Resource Investors.

Gold started off 2010 with a surge, likely bolstered by both a weakening dollar and a flow of funds back into the yellow metal with the start of the new year. However, the rise stalled on just the second day of 2010 trading. The economy was spooked after housing data showed a big drop in pending home sales. That sent money into the U.S. dollar at the expense of gold.

Meanwhile, the copper market, which has been registering new highs of late, received some positive news with the suspension of the strike at the world's second largest copper mine. Striking Chilean copper workers voted to return to work at the Chuquicamata mine owned by Codelco. The news came after prices recovered on the back of solid U.S. factory orders and other reports that reflected rising demand for base metals.

Another market on the rise in the wake of the positive economic news is crude oil. The market has surpassed its 2009 peak, reaching $81.51 a barrel before slipping late Tuesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported a bigger-than-expected rise in U.S. gasoline inventories.

For more on the reasons behind these moves, see these headlines, where you can catch up on what happened in the resource markets this past week -- and prepare for the next.

James Holter
Resource Investor

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