Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slipped 0.6% to close above $1,727 as encouraging economic data and a new Fed bond-buying program lifted risk appetite, undercutting demand for safe havens.

The Federal Reserve announced it will expand its purchases of corporate debt to include individual bonds as well as ETFs while expanding its Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility. The shift to a more active strategy follows last week's downbeat view of the economy by the central bank and adds support to credit markets to maintain the flow of liquidity.

Wall Street cheered the additional stimulus efforts. The Dow added 0.6% while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively. Treasury prices fell as investors shifted toward risk, lifting yields.

Also supporting upbeat sentiment, the Empire State Manufacturing Survey showed business activity rebounding 48 points in June after two months of record contractions. While the numbers handily beat forecasts, the index still registered just -.02, far under the 50 mark that indicates expansion.

Capping gold's losses, the dollar fell 0.5% against major rivals on the uptick in risk appetite. A falling dollar supports gold and other commodities by m making them less expensive in other currencies.

The other precious metals were mixed, with silver and palladium dropping 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively, while platinum rose 0.3%.

At the Comex close: August gold dropped $10.10 to $1,727.20; July silver slipped 8 cents to $17.40; July platinum picked up $2.70 to $821.70; and September palladium lost $5.40 to $1,933.10 an ounce.