Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinNew York spot gold slipped 0,6% to close under $2,317 as Treasury yields and the dollar rose on upbeat US data and hawkish Fed speak, undercutting alternative store of value. Retreating oil prices also weighed on the metal. Silver fell 2.2% to finish at $28.84 an ounce.

US home prices resumed their climb in April, adding 0.2% after holding flat in March. While the annualized increase slowed from 6.7% to 6.3%, reflecting 7% mortgage rates, prices nonetheless set a record across Case-Shillers 20-city index.

Consumer confidence dipped in June on anxiety about prospects for the economy. But the Conference Boards index beat forecasts, suggesting more resilience than expected in the engine of US economic growth. Consumer spending accounts for roughly 70% of GDP.

Fed Governor Michelle Bowman repeated her position that interest must remain high for some time and could go even higher to prevent a resurgence in inflation. Coming one day after regional Fed Presidents Austin Goolsby and Mary Daley signaled their openness to rate cuts, Bowmans comments pushed the Fed-speak pendulum back in a hawkish direction.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose slightly on the upbeat data and shifting rate view, pressuring gold by increasing the opportunity costs for holding the non-yielding asset instead of bonds.

Tracking with yields, the dollar added 0.2% against major rivals. A rising buck weighs on gold and other commodities by making them pricier overseas.

US benchmark WTI crude slipped 0.4% to under $81 as tensions eased following last weeks drone attacks on Russian refineries. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy inflation.

Gold remains supported by strong retail and central bank buying in Asia, along with expectations of rate cuts among major economies. This Fridays release of the personal consumption expenditures index, the Feds preferred inflation gauge, should provide further clues to US policy in coming months.

Platinum and palladium lost 1.5% and 3.1%, respectively.

At the New York spot close: gold slipped $13.40 to $2,316.60; silver fell 65 cents to $28.84; platinum shed $15.40 to $986.40; and palladium lost $38.40 to $945.70 an ounce.