Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold fell 0.7% to close under $1,710 after a better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls report lifted yields and the dollar, undercutting alternative assets. The metal still finished the week 2.2% higher on worries about slowing global growth and rising geopolitical tensions.

The US added 263,000 new jobs in September and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, one of the lowest levels since the 1960s. While the increase was the smallest in 17 months, it nonetheless signaled that the Fed's aggressive monetary tightening this year has done little to weaken the labor market.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields pushed higher for the day and week, marking their tenth straight week of gains, the longest streak in 45 years. Higher yields weigh on gold because they increase the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds as a safe-haven asset.

The dollar tracked higher with yields, adding 0.5% against major rivals as investors speculated that the Fed will almost certainly raise rates by another 75 basis points when it meets next month. Fed fund futures put the odds at nearly 95%, up from 85% before the new jobs data.

A stronger dollar weighs on gold and other commodities by making it pricier in other currencies, limiting overseas demand.

Gold rallied sharply earlier in the week on faltering growth in Europe and Asia, along with rising tensions over Russia's illicit annexation of parts of Ukraine. Both supports remain in place, but the metal will likely face additional headwinds from yields and the dollar as the Fed marches higher with rates this fall.

The other precious metals were also lower for the session but higher for the week. Silver dropped 2% today but rose 6.4% this week. Platinum slipped 0.4% for a weekly rise of 6.8%. Palladium dumped 3.7% today but held onto a weekly gain of 0.4%.

At the Comex close: December gold fell $11.50 to $1,709.30; December silver slid 41 cents to $20.26; January platinum dipped $3.90 to $917.90; December palladium lost $84.20 to $2,191.30 an ounce.