The SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) is up 1.2% today, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE: SLV) circles unchanged. WTI Oil is down 0.9%, and the Dollar Index (DXY) is up 0.5%. Huh? Yes, something has goosed gold prices today despite an otherwise "unfriendly" surrounding market environment that is not particularly embracing risk ahead of the weekend.

Then again, there is a story floating around that claims the Norwegians intend to halt all further aid payments to "highly indebted Greece." Let's keep in mind that Norway is one of the "Northern" solvent members of the EC -- along with Germany. If in fact this story has merit, then money denominated in euros could very well be starting a mission to seek safety ahead of a potential dismemberment -- safety into the USD (which is perceived to be safer than the beleaguered euro on a relative basis), and, more to the point, into gold.

So far, gold and the GLD act extremely well today, but let's see if they can hold their gains into the closing Friday bell.

 

Mike Paulenoff is a 26-year veteran of the financial markets and author of MPTrader.com.