Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinExtending Monday's 1.1% surge, gold added 0.1% to close at a six-month high of $1,273 despite a rebound in US equity markets after their worst Christmas Eve tumble in history.

In a tweet on Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated that the nation's largest banks contained adequate liquidity to prevent a banking crisis. The unexpected declaration, apparently driven by President Trump's desire to calm the markets after their worst December performance since 1931, had precisely the opposite effect. Investors responded with panicked selling, hammering the Dow by 2.9% and driving gold nearly $14 higher.

Wall Street rebounded today on bargain-hunting as investors realized that Mnuchin was not, in fact, signaling some unknown problem with the financial system. The Dow and S&P 500 rallied nearly 5% higher. The dollar added 0.5% against major rivals.

Helping gold to shake off the pressure that ordinarily comes with rising risk appetite, oil prices skyrocketed by nearly 10% after Russia's top energy official said global oil production will stabilize at a lower level in 2019. Gold often trades in sympathy will oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The other precious metals were also higher. Silver gained 2% while platinum and palladium rose 1.4% and 0.8%, respectively.

At the Comex close: February gold added $1.20 to $1,273; March silver climbed 30 cents to at $15.12; January platinum added $10.70, to $799.50; and March palladium picked up $9.80 to $1,185.90 an ounce.