Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold inched down 40 cents to hold above $1,838 as rising risk appetite pressured safe-haven assets. The metal then rallied as high as $1,850 after Fed Chair Jerome Powell reassured Congress that rate hikes will not be aggressive enough to tip the economy into recession.

Testifying before Congress, Powell pushed back on the contention that the Fed has increased to odds of a recession by raising interest rates, saying the economy is resilient enough to absorb them.

Powell emphasized that his goal is to engineer a “soft landing” and another hike of 75 basis points at the next Fed meeting is not certain.

Wall Street applauded Powell’s softened tone, lifting the Dow and S&P500 by 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.8%. High flying growth and tech stocks suffer more from large rate hikes because their valuations rely heavily on future cash flows, which are reduced by higher borrowing costs.

The dollar pulled back 0.3% against major rivals, lifting gold and other commodities by making the less expensive in other currencies.

The other precious metals finished lower, with silver dropping 1.6% while platinum and palladium shed 1.3% each.

At the Comex close: August gold dipped 40 cents to $1,838.40; July silver shed 35 cents to $21.42; July platinum fell $12.60 to $926.90; and September palladium lost $24.80 to $1,837.90 an ounce.