Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.5% to close just under $1,298 as the dollar plunged after Fed Chair Janet Yellen and ECB head Mario Draghi made no mention of current monetary policy in their speeches at Jackson Hole, boosting demand for alternative stores of value. The metal rose 0.5% for the week.

Speaking at the annual conference of central bankers, Yellen defended central bank actions and banking regulations since the financial meltdown of 2009, while Draghi declaimed against protectionism. Both bankers frustrated traders who were expecting to hear talk of tightening in the dollar and euro.

The dollar fell nearly 0.6% on Yellen's speech, dropping to the lowest level of the year, as traders took the absence of information to imply a dovish course on US interest rates. The euro jumped to a 32-month high against the dollar. Separately, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan reinforced that view by declaring that the Fed could be patient before hiking again because of low inflation.

Low interest rates tend to weigh on the dollar by failing to attract foreign exchange investors seeking higher yield. In turn, a weaker dollar supports gold and other commodities denominated in it for international trade by making them less expensive overseas.

Further banging the buck, orders for durable goods plunged 6.8% in the July, notching the worst month in almost three years.

The other precious metals were mixed for the day and week. Silver rose 0.5% to pull off a weekly rise of 0.3%. Platinum fell 0.4% on the day and 0.3% on the week. Palladium fell 0.5% today but still climbed 0.4% this week.

At the Comex close: December gold gained $5.90 to $1,297.90; September silver added 9 cents, to $17.05; October platinum dropped $3.50 to $979.10; and September palladium fell $5.10 to $931.05 an ounce.