Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slipped 0.3% to close under $1,491 as traders hedged their bets ahead of the Fed's rate decision, and global risk sentiment was buoyed by the prospect of a US-China trade deal.

The Federal Reserve is almost universally expected to cut interest rates by a quarter-point at the two-day meeting on monetary policy that begins today. The real question becomes whether the committee will strike a hawkish tone in its accompanying statement, discounting the possibility of additional cuts this year.

With the rate cut all but already priced in, traders are leaning into signals from the Trump administration that a deal may be struck with China soon. President Trump said yesterday that he expects to sign an agreement sooner than expected, and he may extend the suspension of tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese imports.

The Global Dow rose 0.4%, in part on the upbeat trade sentiment while the Dow and S&P 500 traded slightly lower. Increasing confidence that Britain will not crash out of the EU also boosted risk appetite overseas.

Stable consumer confidence also weighed on safe havens. The Conference Board's confidence index was little changed in October as trade-war worries died down and stocks rose to record highs.

The other precious metals were mostly lower, with silver and palladium dropping 0.3% and 1.4%, respectively, while platinum rose 0.7%.

At the Comex close: December gold slid $5.10 to $1,490.70; December silver dipped a nickel to $17.83; January platinum rose $6.10 to $925.10; and December palladium lost $24.20 to $1,755.10 an ounce.