Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold edged up slightly but held under $1,271 as a softer dollar and rising oil were offset by a rebound in equities, neutralizing demand for alternative assets. The metal ended the week down 0.6%.

The dollar fell 0.3% against major rivals, posting a weekly decline of 0.4%, as the euro rallied sharply on news that the EU will levy retaliatory tariffs on $3.2 billion in US goods. Trade protectionism typically results in higher prices and may accelerate the ECB's timeline for raising interest rates to combat inflation. A deal to ease Greek bailout debt also lifted the common currency.

Oil prices spiked higher, with West Texas crude jumping 4.5% to $68.48, as OPEC tentatively agreed to raise production limits by 600,000 barrels a day, less than expected. Oil has been under pressure in recent weeks because of speculation that production would sharply increase. Higher oil prices typically support gold by spurring demand for hedges against energy-related inflation.

The Dow snapped an eight-day losing streak, gaining 0.5% after OPEC's announcement drove energy shares higher.

The other precious metals were also higher for the day but lower for the week. Silver rose 0.8% but still slipped 0.1% this week. Platinum gained 1.2% today but lost 1.6% this week. Palladium edged up 0.1% but lost 3.6% on the week.

At the Comex close: August gold added 20 cents, to $1,270.70; July silver rose 13 cents to $16.46; July platinum gained $10.10 to $873.30; and September palladium picked up 80 cents to $946.40 an ounce.