Good morning, Resource Investors.

Although there's little suspicion that interest rate hikes are imminent, the market appears to have come to grips with the likelihood that rates can't stay at 0% forever. Speculation that current expansionary policies will end has weighed on gold prices, seeing them close below $1,100 an ounce for the first time in almost two months. However, if economists' expectations for this week's laundry list of reports -- home sales, consumer spending and jobless claims -- are not met, gold's bull run may resume in full force.

With the dollar strengthening on the same news, other metals markets also have corrected, with silver, platinum and palladium all slipping. However, copper, perhaps on reports of improving home sales data, is showing some resilience. March copper remains over $3.15 a pound.

Crude oil, however, joined the cascade downward. Expectations that Opec will hold production quotas steady didn't help the case for gold bulls. January crude is trading at $72.47 a barrel. Meanwhile, natural gas is on the rise, climbing on news that U.S. stocks are taking a hit as cold weather settles in across most of the country.

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