Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold dipped 0.2% to close under $1,935 after strong gains in the labor market undercut the prospect for additional fiscal stimulus from Congress, bolstering the dollar and pressuring alternative stores of value. The metal lost 2.1% for the week.

US nonfarm payrolls added 1.4 million jobs in August, beating forecasts and pushing the unemployment rate down to 8.4%. While trending in the right direction, job gains have slowed after the upsurge in June caused by the economy's emergence from lockdowns.

Around 20% of the new hires were temporary workers for the US census, and more than 11 million Americans remain out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pressuring gold and other commodities priced in it for global trade, the dollar rose against major rivals on speculation that the upbeat jobs numbers will decrease the likelihood of further fiscal stimulus in the near term. Additional aid had already stalled in the Senate over concerns about the exploding budget deficit, which has stretched to an all-time high above $3 trillion.

The other precious metals were mixed for the day and week. Silver slid 0.6% for a weekly loss of 3.3%. Platinum rose 1% today but fell 4.5% this week. Palladium added 0.9% for a weekly rise of 5%.

At the Comex close: December gold slipped $3.50 to $1,934.30; December silver dropped 16 cents to $26.71; October platinum gained $8.60 to $898.20; and December palladium climbed $21.90 to $2,343.20 an ounce.