Gold News & Info

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.4% to close back above $1,090 as plunging equities and a weaker dollar boosted safe-haven demand.

U.S. shares fell heavily today, led by a route in media stocks as major players like Disney, CBS, Viacom, Time Warner, and Fox reported weak earnings. As measured by the S&P 500 media index, the sector is down more than 5% in its biggest two-day loss since 2008 during the financial crisis. The Dow lost nearly 0.8% and the Nasdaq 1.6%.

The dollar retreated slightly after yesterday's rally, holding just under a two-week high, as traders await tomorrow's nonfarm payrolls report for further direction on interest rates. Strong job gains could prompt the Fed to raise rate in September despite inconsistent data over recent weeks. ADP reported yesterday that businesses added just 185,000 jobs in July, well below forecasts, which may not augur well for the NFP.

The Atlanta Fed released its new GDPNow forecast today. Widely considered the most accurate forecasting model of growth, it shows real GDP rising just 1% in the third quarter, subtracting 1.7% from earlier estimates because of lower inventory investment.

Treasury prices rose along with gold on safe-haven inflows. The other precious metals also finished higher, with silver adding 0.8% while platinum and palladium rose 0.5% and 1.1%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold gained $4.50 to $1,090.10; September silver added 13 cents, to $14.68; October platinum picked up $5.10 to $956; and September palladium jumped $6.80 to $599.80 an ounce.