Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold edged 0.1% higher to close near $1,254 as the dollar resumed its slide on political turmoil in Washington and dovish comments from a prominent Fed official. The metal gained 2.1% this week for its best showing in five weeks.

The dollar fell another 0.8% against major rivals, losing 2% for the week as controversy surrounding President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey weighed on sentiment. Traders speculate that the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate connections between the Trump campaign and Russia may cast a pall over his administration and impede its pro-growth agenda. The currency has now lost all its gains since Trump's election in November.

Further pressuring the greenback, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard questioned the need for higher interest rates in a speech at Washington University, calling the central bank's suggested policy of two more hikes this year "overly aggressive relative to actual incoming data." Bullard added he is not concerned that low unemployment will lead to "meaningfully higher inflation."

Higher rates would support the dollar by attracting foreign exchange investment seeking higher yield, in turn weighing on gold other commodities priced in it for international trade by making them more expensive overseas.

Gold's gains were capped by a rally in equities. The Dow and S&P 500 both rose around 0.9% and the Global Dow added 1.1% as strong corporate earnings boosted risk appetite.

The other precious metals were mostly higher for the day and week. Silver rose 0.8% for a weekly gain of 2.4%. Platinum added 0.4% for the day and 2.5% for the week. Outlier palladium dropped 0.6% today and 5.3% this week.

At the Comex close: June gold edged up 80 cents to $1,253.60; July silver climbed 13 cents to $16.80; July platinum added $3.40, to $940.20; and June palladium lost $4.75 to $760.70 an ounce.