Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold gained 0.4% to close above $1,904 despite a stronger dollar as worries about spreading Covid cases and slower growth in China drove investors into safe-haven assets.

China started enforcing partial lockdowns in Beijing today to prevent a major outbreak of Covid. The closures are seen as potentially the first step toward the draconian measures that have essentially shut down China's financial hub of Shanghai for the past four weeks.

The resurgent pandemic and China's zero-tolerance response is expected to dramatically slow its economy this year. President Xi Jinping is reportedly targeting growth to outpace the US economy, which is projected to expand by 3%, well below the 5.5% Beijing was targeting just last month.

Wall Street tumbled on expectations of slower global growth and higher interest rates, with the Dow dropping 2.4% while S&P 500 fell 2.8% and the Nasdaq 4%.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields retreated below 2.8% as investors sought safety in government bonds. Falling yields support gold by reducing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds as a safe-haven asset.

Gold's gains came despite a sharply higher dollar, which picked up 0.6% to reach a new two-year high of flights to safety. A stronger dollar creates headwinds for gold and other commodities by making the pricier in other currencies, reducing demand overseas.

The other precious metals were mostly higher, with platinum and palladium adding 0.8% and 2.7%, respectively, while silver slipped 0.6%.

At the Comex close: June gold gained $8.10 to $1,904.10; July silver slid 14 cents to $23.57; July platinum picked up $7.10 to $912.10; and June palladium climbed $56.40 to $2,178.50 an ounce.