Gold News & Info

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold fell 1.6% to $1,390, its lowest close in two weeks, as traders took profits ahead of this week's non-farm payrolls report, which is expected to give direction on the timing of the Fed's pending taper of quantitative easing. The Fed's Beige Book, released today, reported the economy growing at a "modest to moderate" pace since late July, just enough to reinforce the idea of a September taper if Friday's jobs report shows payrolls expanded by 180,000 in August, as forecast. Tantamount to printing money, QE has supported higher gold prices by undermining the value of the dollar and increasing the risk of long-term inflation.

Gold rose last week to a three-month high above $1,433 when U.S. intervention in Syria seemed a near-certainty. Much of that safe-haven premium, driven by fears of oil supply disruptions, began to drain away after Russia vowed to veto any U.N. resolution in support of military action. Although yesterday's agreement by House Republican leadership to support military action caused gold and silver to jump 1.1% and 3.9%, respectively, lingering reluctance by Congress makes a strike appear less imminent, weighing on the metals' safe-haven premium. Silver tumbled by 4.2% while platinum and palladium fell by 2.8% and 2.7%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold fell $22 to $1,390; December silver lost $1.01 to $23.42; October platinum dropped $43.50 to $1,494.70; and December palladium slid $19.70 to $698.25 an ounce.