(Kitco News) - Analysts at the German inventment bank Deutsche Bank have released a controversial research note suggesting that the Swiss Franc (CHF) is a better inflation hedge than gold. The analyst note said the "Swiss franc is now a better hedge against spiraling inflation than gold".

(Kitco News) - "Lucky Friday's been operational 80 years, and you would think there wouldn't be anything new that you could do, but we've actually developed in the last two years a new mining method," said Baker

(Kitco News) - Gold is trading 0.34% higher leading into the European open. Silver is also having a good start and is nearly 1% in the black. Elsewhere in the commodities complex, copper (1.63%) and spot WTI (1.19%) are both trading well.

As DB's Jim Reid puts it "if you want the good news this morning it's that H1 is now finally over. If you want the bad news it's that there's not much good news around as we start H2 and US equity futures are already down around a percent in the first few hours of the new half year. "