That is a bearish underlying fundamental factor for the precious metals markets at present.

FORBES: P.M. Kitco Metals Roundup: Gold Ends Weaker amid Firmer U.S. Dollar Index, Bearish Near-Term Technical Posture

The Maya ignored the crisis in front of them, instead dancing with great panaches of precious quetzal feathers on pyramids, as if the present would forever hold.

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The precious metals market bulls are eyeing the present price pullback as another bargain-hunting buying opportunity amid longer-term price uptrends that remain in place.

FORBES: Comex Gold, Silver Weaker on Follow-Through Selling Pressure from Strong Losses Thursday

Let the neighbors rig up their 40-foot, live-candle Christmas tree or present little pots of caviar so precious that each egg is like the last stand of an endangered species.

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The precious yellow metal was pressured by a stronger U.S. dollar index and by the present weak near-term technical posture for gold.

FORBES: P.M. Kitco Metals Roundup: Gold Ends Weaker amid Firmer U.S. Dollar Index, Bearish Near-Term Technical Posture

Twenty-six albums into the band's career, Natural finds The Mekons walking in a post-apocalyptic world, full of past and present, but precious little future.

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On the other hand, for those investors that do not have an allocation to precious metals in their portfolios at present, this pullback, once complete, may present an attractive entry point for a longer term investment timeframe.

FORBES: What To Make Of The Dramatic Drop In Gold Prices