Four Must-See Charts: Gold Stocks

Gold is starting to perk up and catch the attention of market players and serious investors on Wall Street.

The sector was on fire on Tuesday with big gains that clocked in at more than 4.5%, lagging only the consumer services sector for the top-performing industry. Some very strong action could be found in names such as Vista Gold(VGZ Quote), NovaGold Resources(NG Quote), Western Goldfields(WGW Quote) and Golden Star Resources(GSS Quote).

There could be a number of explanations for why gold is starting to show some real strength. Investors could be using it as a hedge against stock market declines, considering how much the market has run since March lows. The weak dollar is also a strong contributor, and strong demand from China and other emerging markets has helped push the yellow metal higher.

A bigger potential explanation for the strength in gold is fear of inflation. Many investors are worried that inflation is right around the corner, and the recent strength in commodities is helping to support that argument. On Tuesday, crude oil busted through $60 a barrel, marking its highest levels in six months. Prices for gasoline at the pump have also started to rise noticeably, turning up more than 20 cents on average in just the past couple of weeks. ...