$Occidental Petroleum(OXY.US) rose six points, directly benefiting from higher oil prices, plus selling chemical assets to Berkshire Hathaway for $9.8 billion and reducing debt from a peak of $40 billion to $15 billion, fundamentals have been improving; but as another hard asset for inflation hedging, $iShares Gold Trust(IAU.US) dipped slightly, $iShares Silver Tr(SLV.US) fell three points, gold and silver actually softened today.

Both are commodities, oil is rising while precious metals are falling—is it capital rotating within commodities, favoring cyclical energy over safe-haven gold/silver under a soft-landing expectation, or just a one-day dislocation? More likely the former: oil prices holding at highs combined with a steepening curve inherently benefits cyclical commodities like energy; without safe-haven buying, gold and silver are prone to pullbacks.