Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold was little changed, dipping 0.1% to close under $1,202, as safe-haven buying early was neutralized by strong US economic data, which boosted expectations for higher interest rates from the Fed. The metal had risen above $1,210 in intraday trading on weakness in US stocks, only to fall back at the close after ADP reported strong jobs gains.

Factory orders jumped 2.3% in August to an 11-month, beating forecasts and adding to the sense that GDP growth will be strong to end 2018. Separately, ADP reported that the private sector added 230,000 jobs in September, the most since February, signaling that the red-hot job market is not cooling off.

Long-term bond yields continued to surge as upbeat data increased the likelihood of higher inflation, causing bondholders to sell lower-yielding notes. Traders now expect four rate hikes from the Fed next year, in addition to one in December, which will further support higher yields.

Higher bond yields and expectations of tighter monetary policy combined to hammer stocks, with the Dow and Global Dow dropping 0.8% while Nasdaq lost twice that much. Tech shares were also pressured by revelations that China hacked the US supply chain by including tiny spy chips in motherboards used in servers.

US oil prices plunged near 3% on sharply higher domestic stockpiles, marking its biggest one-day drop in nearly two months. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil and a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The other precious metals were also lower, with silver sliding 0.8% while platinum and palladium lost 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold dipped $1.30 to $1,201.60; December silver slid 8 cents to $14.59; January platinum fell $11.20 to $824.50; and December palladium shed $8.50 to $1,045.50 an ounce.