Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slid 1.7% to close under $1,634 on profit-taking as Wall Street rose for a second day behind hopes for a historic stimulus package. The metal had rallied more than 11% over the previous two sessions.

The Senate is close to passing to an unprecedented $2 trillion bailout to cushion the US economy from the devastating coronavirus pandemic. The massive spending package includes direct payments of $1,200 to citizens, expanded unemployment benefits, a $367 billion loan program for small business, and a $500 billion lending fund for states, cities, and industries.

Equities rallied for a second day behind the stimulus plan, with Dow and S&P 500 rising 2.4% and 1.3%, respectively, as investors shifted from safety toward risk.

Limiting gold's slide, the dollar fell another 1.1% against major rivals as the Fed's declaration of unlimited quantitative easing this week continued to reduce liquidity crunches in dollar-funded cash markets. A weaker dollar supports gold and other precious metals by making them less expensive in other currencies.

Gold supply shortages are building because of COVID-19. Demand for the metal as the currency of last resort has risen dramatically in recent weeks, causing several national mints to interrupt production of bullion coins. At the same time, three major refiners in Switzerland closed this week because of shelter-in-place orders.

The other precious metals were sharply higher. Silver and platinum rose 4.3% and 6.2% respectively, while palladium rocketed 25.8% higher because of mine closures in South Africa, the world's leading producer.

At the Comex close: April gold slid $27.40 to $1,633.40; May silver gained 62 cents to $14.87; April platinum picked up $43.80 to $745.50; and June palladium jumped $460.70 to $2,247.60 an ounce.