Originally posted at Sprott Money June 16, 2016

The markets continue to be afraid and for good reasons. The world stands on a knife's edge and central bankers, the ones who are supposed to have "all the answers", have proven themselves to be utterly incompetent time and time again.

Sadly, they are so foolish in their actions and their addiction to print ever larger quantities of fiat money, so much so that we now find ourselves in a nearly irreversible scenario, one that will ultimately end in a historic correction or collapse.

This is just one of the reasons why the markets are once again falling and precious metals are surging higher. As I have highlighted many times recently on this blog, the people are waking up in droves and are sick and tired of the confines the elites have built around them, especially financially.

Gold and silver are a direct benefactor of this disgruntlement, as they are the anti-establishment currency of choice. They are the one true proven free money that has stood the tests of time and not only endured, but prospered.

Therefore, it is no surprise to see that gold has broken through the psychologically important $1300 ceiling that has plagued it for so long. Whether or not the manipulators will spring into action is yet to be seen. Will they crush it lower once again and attempt to keep this rocket under pressure? We will see.

Regardless, they are losing the war, especially on the physical front. The REAL market, the one that they have little to no control over, stands ready to shatter their false fiat reality they have built around the world.

Silver has highlighted this fact once again, experiencing massive import demand in the United States, seeing a 20% surge in March over the previous month.

Import demand of the people's metal jumped to 582 mt, the highest seen in the past two years!

But what is even more heartening is the fact that this demand did not come from the stagnating U.S. manufacturing economy, but rather the investment demand for physical bars and rounds, with ETF funds experiencing a 30% surge of inflows in the month of March.

The trend continues on in precious metals, physical demand is growing, while the broad economy only continues to get worse. The facts are there. Many are choosing to simply ignore them and stick their heads in the sand, but not us, not the precious metals community. We are awake and we are preparing.

The views and opinions expressed in this material are those of the author as of the publication date, are subject to change and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of Sprott Money Ltd. Sprott Money does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness and reliability of the information or any results from its use.