The latest estimate by the U.S. Department of Commerce pegs annualized real gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. GDP measures the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States. The estimate is a downward revision of the 5.9 percent estimate issued last month, but still represents a sizable jump from the third quarter's 2.2 percent annualized growth rate.

For the week ending Thursday, inflation's signposts included:

• A London morning gold fix falling 2.6 percent to average $1,106; spot COMEX settlements dropping 3.1 percent to a mean of $1,103; COMEX average daily volume rising 37.3 percent to 193,300 contracts; open interest slipping 0.6 percent to an average 501,000 contracts.

• Three-month London gold lease rates were flat, as a 2 basis point (0.02 percent) uptick in forward rates was checked by a lock-step move in Libor.

• COMEX gold stocks scarcely rose by 350 ounces, holding at 10.02 million ounces, enough to cover 20.2 percent of open interest.

• Junior gold stocks, tracked by the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: GDXJ), slipped 6.0 percent, less than the 6.7 percent dip in the major producers inside the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSE Arca: GDX); the blue chip S&P 500 Composite was nearly unchanged for the week; the correlation of GDX to the broader equity benchmark ticked up to 63 percent; the S&P's correlation to gold itself was 49 percent.

• Nearby NYMEX crude oil sank 2.0 percent to an $81.26 average price; the gold/oil multiple eased to 13.6x.

• Rates on three-month Treasury bills and Libor diverged this week; bill yields fell 2 basis points, while LIBOR inched up; TED spreads, now at 15 basis points, rose by 4 points; the spread represents the yield premium demanded for interbank loans.

• One-year finance rates implied in the COMEX gold futures term structure rose, increasing the premium over Treasurys to 15 basis points.

• Long Treasurys cheapened, raising yields on 30-year paper 18 basis points to 4.77 percent; six months ago, the long bond yielded 4.10 percent; the current yield curve has steepened 20 basis points since last week.

• The U.S. dollar rose in foreign exchange dealings, knocking down the euro by 2.9 percent; cross rates averaged $1.3560 with a mean rate of $1.3365 Thursday.

• The dollar's vigor in the forex and commodities markets doused the embers of near-term monetary inflation; compared with levels in the previous 365 days, inflation averaged 0.4 percent this week, though it's ticking up at an average annual rate of 3.6 percent in the long term; the real return on three-month Treasury bills ended the week at negative 3 basis points.

Monetary Inflation Index