After a swift two week sell off, gold and silver have spent this week consolidating in their new ranges.  The USD and equities remain strong but physical demand is helping to buoy the metals a bit.  Short term forwards in gold have slipped into backwardation recently as refiners borrow metal to make kilo bars to send to Asia.   The Shanghai arb has crept up versus London, reflecting that Chinese physical demand is reentering the market.  Besides from physical demand, gold lease rates have also moved higher as speculative shorts are forced to borrow metal to maintain their positions.  Gold coin and bar demand is strong but not nearly as impressive as that of silver.  Major sovereign mint coins, especially from the US Mint and RCM, are either unavailable or are trading at above-normal-market premiums.  Even private mints / refiners bar and round premiums have inched up in sync with further delays for delivery.