Whenever gold and silver hit a correction, those are the times that try men’s souls. But they are also a classic case of making volatility our friend.

A gold mining company may hedge its production on expectations of falling gold prices in order to lock in high prices and possibly avoid losses. As gold hits one nominal high after another, is such behavior a sign that the bull market in gold is over?

I am beginning to feel a bit like one of the French unfortunates stumbling through the fog in the Ardennes, circa 1914. Except that, instead of Germans full of deadly intent coming at me in the gloomy forest, it is a flock of black swans.

I was recently asked in an interview if I thought gold was going to $5,000 an ounce. “No,” I said bluntly. “I think it’s going higher.” “You’re that optimistic?” “No,” I replied. “I’m that pessimistic.”

I outlined last week the increasingly bullish consensus among analysts about gold stocks. The same pattern exists with gold itself; growing numbers of analysts have either joined the movement or have upped their bullish outlook.

In spite of constant headlines about debts and deficits, most Americans don’t really believe the U.S. dollar will collapse. From knowledgeable investors who study the markets to those seemingly too busy to worry about such things, most dismiss the idea of the dollar actually going to zero.

It turns out that China is not willing to pay whatever it has to for energy and metal resources.Several resource deals have faltered in recent months, indicating an increasingly choosy Chinese perspective on energy and metal acquisitions. Add to that the growing concern that the global economy is once again stumbling and that commodity prices may be near a top, and you have a Chinese deal-making market that has gone from 60 to zero in no time.

Coal prices are surging ahead even as most other commodities pull back, spurred on by expectations that metallurgical and thermal coal production will again fail to meet rising global demand this year. The result: Record profits for major coal producers like Xstrata, a surge in acquisitions from coal-hungry India, Chinese electricity shortages, and a raging carbon tax debate in Australia amid record investments in that country’s coal-heavy mining sector.

In a dramatic about-face, Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last Monday that Germany will phase out nuclear power completely by 2022, shutting down its nine operational reactors and never restarting the seven reactors that were suspended in the wake of the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant.

CPM Group recently released their 2011 Silver Yearbook, one of the industry’s most comprehensive sources of information on the silver market. Though mostly a reference book, I uncovered some interesting facts that paint a decidedly bullish picture for the metal going forward.

Inflation has certainly been all over the headlines lately. As the cost of basic materials and commodities has pretty much risen across the board, it was just a matter of time until this rise made its appearance on store shelves at a retailer near you. With prices at the pump squeezing motorists as well, the drive to the supermarket is as painful as watching your groceries being scanned at checkout.

I heard some disturbing reports about silver supply last month that I felt every investor should know. And while precious metals are currently in correction mode, the long-term concerns with supply won’t disappear anytime soon. In attempt to get a handle on the bullion market, I spoke to Andy Schectman of Miles Franklin, who has contacts that run deep in the industry. What he sees everyday might just compel you to count how many ounces you own…