Gold News & Info

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold slipped 0.4% to close under $1,256 as Brexit caused the UK pound to weaken further, boosting the dollar and pressuring alternative stores of value.

The dollar rallied 0.8% to an 11-month high against major rivals, led by a plunge of nearly 2% in the UK pound as worries intensify about that nation's coming separation from the European Union. A stronger dollar weighs on gold and other commodities denominated in it for international trade by making them more expensive overseas.

The British currency has fallen by around 5% already this month in response to Prime Minister Theresa May's proposal to initiate Brexit by March 2017, more quickly than many predicted.

Gold is also under pressure from expectations that the Fed may raise interest rates in December, which would further strengthen the dollar. However, the decision will depend upon economic data, especially job growth and inflation, in coming weeks. By those measures, prospects may have dimmed after Friday's anemic nonfarm payrolls report for September showed just 156,000 jobs added last month. And today, the New York Fed said U.S. inflation expectations fell to their lowest level on record in September.

Also pressuring gold, oil fell 2% after Russia's oil ministers threw cold water on yesterday's report that the nation would cooperate with OPEC to curtail production. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-inflation.

The other precious metals harder than gold, with silver dropping 0.9% while platinum and palladium lost 1.6% and 3.1%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold slipped $4.50 to $1,255.90; December silver dropped 15 cents to $17.51; January platinum lost $15.60 to $949.80; and December palladium tumbled $20.40 to $648.15 an ounce.