Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinNew York spot gold slipped 0.3% to close under $3,387 as the dollar advanced on worries about the escalating Middle East conflict despite another round of weak US economic data. Silver surged 2% to finish at $37.09, a 13-year high.

US retail sales plunged 0.9% in May as Americans reduced expenditures in the face of uncertainty over inflation and trade policies. Restaurant sales fell 1%, the biggest drop in more than two years, and auto purchases also tumbled.

Separately, industrial production fell for the second time in three months, losing 0.2% behind sharp drops in utilities and capacity utilization. US factories are expected to benefit from the new US tariff policies.

Meanwhile, aggressive missile bombardments between Iran and Israel continued for the fifth day, increasing concerns of a wider conflict in the volatile region and fueling risk-off appetite on Wall Street. All three major US stock indexes fell at least 0.8%.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell under 4.4% as investors shifted into the perceived safety of government debt.

But the dollar rallied 0.8% on flights to safety, pressuring gold by making it pricier overseas.

Against this backdrop the Fed begins its two-day meeting on monetary policy, almost universally expected to hold interest rates steady as it awaits clarity on the fallout from Trump tariffs and geopolitical turmoil.

Platinum and palladium rose 1.3% and 1.6%, respectively.

At the New York spot close: gold slipped $9.80 to $3,386.60; silver surged 71 cents to $37.09; platinum picked up $15.90 to $1,265.90; and palladium rose $16.55 to $1,053.25 an ounce.