Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold rose 0.3% to close above $1,223 as soft US data and rekindled trade-war worries pressured the dollar and boosted demand for safe havens. The metal still slid 0.8% on the week after the Fed upgraded its outlook for US growth.

US nonfarm payrolls added 157,000 new jobs in July, well-short of forecasts, while the jobless rate ticked down 0.1% to 3.9%. Most of the hiring came from increased government spending. Hourly pay rose 7 cents, but the 12-month rate held at 2.7%, which is weaker than expected given such low unemployment.

The services sector weakened in July, with the ISM non-manufacturing index falling to an 11-month low. Purchase managers complained about tariffs, slow deliveries, and foreign growth.

The US trade deficit rose 7% in June, putting it on track for the biggest annual shortfall in 10 years. The increase came as the first wave of tariffs were levied by the Trump administration to rebalance import and exports.

Jitters over trade escalated as China threatened new tariffs on $60 billion in US goods including chemicals, auto parts, and meat. The threat came after the White House floated a plan to more than double levies on $200 billion in Chinese imports to 25%.

The dollar edged slightly lower, dropping 0.2% on the downbeat data, supporting gold and other commodities priced in it for global trade. But the buck still closed the week 0.6% higher after the Federal Reserve revised its growth outlook to "strong" from "solid," boosting the odds that it will hike rates twice more this year.

The other precious metals were mixed for the day and week. Silver rose 0.5% but still logged a weekly loss of 0.2%. Platinum jumped 1.1% for a weekly rise of 0.6%. Palladium fell 0.8% for the day and 1.2% for the week.

At the Comex close: December gold gained $3.10 to $1,223.20; September silver rose 8 cents to $15.46; October platinum picked up $8.70 to $836.90; and September palladium fell $7.60 to $907.90 an ounce.