Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold jumped 1.2% to close above $1,871 after weak data pressured yields and the dollar, lifting alternative assets. It was the metal’s highest finish in four weeks.

Private payrolls in the US added merely 128,000 jobs in May, less than half of most forecasts, signaling the red-hot labor market may be cooling along with the economy. The more definitive US nonfarm payroll report, due tomorrow, should give a more complete picture of US employment.

The soft jobs data comes one day after the S&P manufacturing PMI showed US manufacturing, a motor of recent economic growth, shrank in May to a four-month low. Lower demand for goods and supply-chain issues because of Covid lockdowns in China and the Ukraine war were the key headwinds.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields pulled back to 2.9% on the down data, supporting gold by reducing the opportunity cost for holding it instead on bonds as a safe-haven asset.

The dollar dropped 0.8% against major rivals as worries about US growth in the face of monetary tightening pushed forex traders towards other currencies. A weaker dollar supports gold and other commodities by making them cheaper overseas.

Gold’s gains were capped by a sharp rebound on Wall Street led by megacap stocks like Boeing, Tesla, and Salesforce. News that OPEC plans to increase production to ease energy shortages also lifted the markets. The Dow and S&P 500 picked up 1.1% and 1.7%, respectively, while the Nasdaq added 2.6%.

The other precious metals were also higher, with silver gaining 1.6% while platinum climbed 3.1% and palladium 2.2%.

At the Comex close: August gold rose $22.70 to $1,871.40; July silver added 36 cents, to $22.28; July platinum picked up $32 to $1,028.40; and September palladium climbed $45.60 to $2,036.50 an ounce.