Gold News & Info

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold tumbled 2.8% to close under $1,877, a three-week low, after a blowout jobs report stoked fears of a more aggressive Fed, lifting yields and the dollar while pressuring alternative assets. The metal lost 2.7% for the week after six straight weekly wins.

The US added a whopping 517,000 jobs in January, nearly tripling most forecasts, and the unemployment rate fell to 3.4%, the lowest since 1969. Totals for December were revised higher, to 260,000 from the 223,000 initially reported.

In addition, the ISM reported the US services sector, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of the economy, rebounded sharply into expansion after falling into contraction in December.

Coming one day after Fed Chair Jerome Powell fueled hopes for a more dovish Fed by emphasizing that the "disinflation process" is underway, the robust data abruptly changed the narrative.

With the labor market still hot and the services sector expanding, the Fed is now seen as likely continue with the most aggressive rate-hike cycle in a generation to further slow the economy and stifle inflation.

Wall Street retreated on the shifting rate view, with the Dow dropping 0.5% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, both more exposed to rate-sensitive tech shares, lost 1.1% and 1.6%, respectively.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields rose back above 3.55%, pressuring gold by increasing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds.

Tracking higher with yield, the dollar jumped 1.2% against major rivals, making gold more expensive in other currencies and stifling demand overseas.

Oil plunged 3.4% on concerns that higher interest rates could curtail global energy demand. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The other precious metals were lower for the day and mixed for the week. Silver fell 5.1% today and 5.2% this week. Platinum also lost 5.1%, for a weekly decline of 3.6%. Palladium dropped 1.5% for the session but gained 1.2% for the week.

At the Comex close: April gold shed $54.20 to $1,876.60; March silver lost $1.21 to $22.41; April platinum retreat by $52.30 to $980.30; and March palladium slid $24.20 to $1,618.40 an ounce.