"Copper is also consolidating its recent gains and would need to break above its record high in order to reaffirm the next upleg in the secular bull-market.  Finally, both silver and gold remain under pressure during this seasonally weak period of the year and further pullbacks should be used as major buying opportunities."

We might have to wait awhile for that buying opportunity. It certainly is a volatile time for oil, gold and silver, which means if there is a trading range being established there might be some room on the upside before the bottom is tested.

Speaking of rumors, it has now been confirmed that copper giant Sterlite Industries (NYSE:SLT), an Indian subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Plc definitively agreed to buy the assets of Asarco LLC, the No. 3 U.S. copper miner, in a bankruptcy-court auction for $2.6 billion cash.

In the minds of many of us (including Jim Cramer and Chris Mayer of Capital & Crisis) that makes SLT a screaming bargain buy. It is possible that SLT might pull back below $20 as the markets digest this news, but don't bet on it.

So there you have it. Hope this gives you a decent snapshot of what is happening. To summarize, the US economy is in recession and it looks to be a deeper recession than many believed. The dollar's ability to rally is in jeopardy, inflation is on the rise, and in the longer-term this is bullish for oil, gold and silver. That insight alone should make our decisions easier.