Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slipped 0.5% to close under $1,656 as risk appetite returned and the dollar strengthened, reducing demand for alternative stores of value.

US industrial output rose 0.4% in September, beating expectations, as production of motor vehicles and parts rebounded sharply from September. Manufacturing increased by a solid 0.6% while capacity utilization of mines, factories, and utilities moved slightly higher. New orders are falling, however, on weaker global trade.

Wall Street rose for a second sessions as optimism about earnings beat out about worries possible recession to lift risk appetite. The Dow and S&P 500 each added 1% while the Nasdaq picked up 0.8%.

But a new poll by the Conference Board showed 98% of CEOs expect a recession within the next 12 to 18 months because of aggressive monetary tightening from the Fed and other global central banks.

And the National Association of Home Builders reported that homebuilder confidence fell in October for the tenth straight month, plunging to the lowest level Since 2012, pandemic excluded.

The dollar picked up 0.1% against major rivals, weighing on gold and other commodities priced in it for global trade by making them more expensive in other currencies.

Also hurting sentiment for gold, WTI crude tumbled 3.1% to a two-week low after the Biden administration moved toward releasing another 10 to 15 million barrels from the Strategic Oil Reserve. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The other precious metals were mostly lower, with silver and platinum dropping 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively, while palladium added 0.7%.

At the Comex close: December gold slipped $8.20 to $1,655.80; December silver dropped 12 cents to $18.60; January platinum slid $6.30 to $907.30; and December palladium picked up $14 to $2,013.90 an ounce.