Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold gained 0.7% to close above $2,000 as weak US data pressured yields and the dollar while a surprise production cut by OPEC+ fueled higher oil prices, stoking demand for inflation hedges. It was the metal's first finish above $2,000 an ounce in more than a year.

The OPEC+ nations, which include Russia, shocked the market by announcing a surprise cut of one million barrels per day, starting in May. The reduction in output will be atop the 2 million barrels-per-day cut announced last October.

US Benchmark WTI crude surged 6.3% to more than $80 per barrel on the news. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The ISM manufacturing index fell deeper into the negative in March, plumbing the lowest level since the pandemic shuttered factories in May 2020. It was the fifth straight month of contraction. The ISM index is widely viewed as a barometer of US economic health.

Separately, construction spending fell in February, according to the Commerce Department.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields pulled back sharply to just above 3.4% as investors sought safety in government debt. Falling yields help gold by decreasing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds as a safe-haven asset.

Tracking lower with yields, the dollar lost 0.9% on expectations that the weakening US economy will encourage the Fed to end its aggressive campaign of higher interest rates. A falling dollar lifts gold by making it less expensive in other currencies, boosting demand overseas.

The other precious metals were lower, with silver sliding 0.6% while platinum and palladium shed 0.7% each.

At the Comex close: June gold gained $14.20 to $2,000.40; May silver slid 13 cents to $24.02; July platinum dropped $6.70 to $996.40; and June palladium shed $10 to $1,458 an ounce.