Gold News & Info

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold tumbled 1.5%, closing at a two-month low under $1,276, as upbeat U.S. data triggered speculation that the Fed will be quicker to raise interest rates. Once the metal passed through its 200-day moving average at $1,287, automatic stop-loss selling pushed prices as low as $1,274 in intraday trade before they stabilized on bargain-hunting.

Sales of existing homes jumped to a 10-month high in July and initial jobless claims fell last week, signaling improvements in areas of particular concern to Janet Yellen as she gauges when to tighten monetary policy. In addition, manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic Fed region rose to an 11-month high in August and the Conference Board's index of leading indicators showed solid improvement in July, suggesting a stronger third quarter.

Risk appetite surged on the data, diminishing demand for safe havens, with the S&P 500 setting an intraday record of 1,994 and the Dow reclaiming 17,000 for the first time since late July. The dollar slipped, helping to cushion gold's fall slightly. The other precious metals were mixed. Silver slid 0.4% and platinum 0.7%. Outlier palladium, used extensively in catalytic converters, rose 1.3% on bullish expectations for auto sales.

At the Comex close: December gold tumbled $19.80 to $1,275.40; September silver slid 8 cents to $19.42; October platinum dropped $10 to 1,419.20;and September palladium gained nearly $11.30 to $879.74 an ounce.