Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slid 0.4% to close at a one-month low under $1,940 after FDA approval of a coronavirus regimen lifted stocks and the dollar, pressuring safe-haven assets.

Reversing its earlier position under pressure from the Trump administration, the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency authorization for the use of blood plasma from recovered patients in the treatment of COVID-19. The agency had initially withheld authorization because of inconclusive testing and what the WHO called "low quality" data.

Wall Street welcomed the news, with the Dow and S&P 500 rising 1% and 0.7%, respectively, while the Global Dow gained 1.3%. Safe-haven Treasury's fell, driving yield higher, as investors shifted toward risk assets.

Also pressuring gold, the dollar held its recent gains, adding less 0.1% ahead of this week's speech by Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the virtual Jackson Hole summit of central bankers. Powell is expected to address, and potentially endorse, the policy of inflation averaging, which lets inflation run above the Fed's 2% target for longer before raising interest rates.

The Chicago Fed's national index of economic activity fell sharply in July after a record jump in June. The data suggest the initial rebound after the lifting of lockdowns in May is waning and growth is likely to be uneven from here.

The other precious metals were also lower, with silver slipping 0.5% while platinum dipped 0.2% and palladium dropped 0.7%.

At the Comex close: December gold slid $7.80 to $1,939.20; September silver lost 12 cents to $26.61; October platinum dipped $1.60 to $924.50; and September palladium dropped $14.80 to $2,165.50 an ounce.