Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold rose 0.5% to close near $1,143, marking its second straight day of gains, as the dollar edged down, supporting demand for alternative stores of value.

The dollar slipped nearly 0.2% against a basket of major rivals, including a plunge of nearly 1% against the yen, as traders took profits from last week's Fed-inspired rally and awaited a speech by Fed Chair Janet Yellen scheduled for this afternoon. A softer dollar supports gold and other commodities denominated in it for international trade.

The buck jumped 2.2% last Wednesday and Thursday after the Fed bumped rates by a quarter-point and signaled three similar hikes to come next year, a more aggressive posture than expected. In addition, president-elect Donald Trump's vows to slash taxes and regulations while rebuilding infrastructure and boosting tariffs on imports are seen as highly inflationary and therefore likely to accelerate future rate hikes.

Wall Street bounced higher, with the Dow and S&P 500 adding 0.3%, capping gold's gains.

The other precious metals finished lower, with silver falling 0.8% while platinum and palladium fell $1.8% and 2.6%, respectively.

At the Comex close: February gold gained $5.30 to $1,142.70; March silver dropped 13 cents to $16.09; January platinum fell $16.80 to $917.30; and March palladium lost $18.20 to $679.05 an ounce.