Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slipped 0.2% to close under $1,666 on profit-taking as the dollar rebounded on upbeat GDP figures that belied the underlying softness of the US economy. The metal had risen more than 2% to a two-week high over the previous four sessions.

The US economy grew 2.6% in the third quarter, beating forecasts, according to the latest government GDP figures. The welcomed rise reversed the trend of Q1 and Q2, when the economy contracted by 1.6% and 0.6% respectively.

But beneath the headline GDP number, the details were not so positive. Most of increase was attributed to a sharp reduction in the US trade deficit, which resulted in a 2.8% boost from foreign trade. And a massive increase in government spending on aid to Ukraine also inflated the total.

Consumer spending, which accounts for roughly 70% of the economy, slowed to 1.4% from 2% the previous quarter. And business investment, the other main pillar of GDP, fell sharply.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields continued to decline, slipping under 4% as lingering concerns about the economy lifted safe-haven buying. Falling yields support gold by lowering the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds.

Bond traders are increasingly betting that the Fed will need to slow its aggressive rate-hike regimen in coming months to prevent recession. While a hike of 75 basis points is a near-certainty at next week's Fed meeting, the odds of another in December have fallen under 36% from more than 75% last week, according the CME Fed Watch.

Still, the dollar bounced 0.7% higher after the GDP release, pressuring gold and other commodities by making them more expensive in other currencies.

The buck was also lifted by a falling euro after downbeat comments from ECB chief Christine Lagarde, who said the eurozone economy is facing a number of downside risks because of the war in Ukraine and other global uncertainties.

The other precious metals were mixed, with silver adding less than 0.1% while platinum picked up 0.5% and palladium fell 1.1%.

At the Comex close: December gold slipped $3.60 to $1,665.60; December silver added a penny, to $19.49; January platinum picked up $4.90 to $967.40; and December palladium dropped $22.30 to $1,938.20 an ounce.