Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slid 0.5% to close under $1,242 after weak economic data in China and Europe hammered oil and boosted the dollar, diminishing demand for alternative stores of value. The metal finished the week 0.9% lower.

China’s industrial output fell and retail sales missed forecasts in November, according to official data, in the latest signs that the world’s second largest economy is feeling the bite of the ongoing trade war with the US. Meanwhile, the IHS purchase manager’s index both for France and Germany showed their private sectors slowing sharply in November.

US data offered investors little to cheer about, either. Purchase managers indexes for both manufacturing and services slid to multi-month lows. US retail sales were up 0.2%, however, beating forecasts.

US and global equities tumbled on worries that the global economy is losing steam, with the Dow dropping 1.8% while the Global Dow lost 1.2%. Jittery investors dumped US-equity mutual funds and ETFs at the fastest pace on record in the week ending Wednesday.

The dollar surged as much as 0.7%, driving the ICE dollar index to an 18-month high, as forex traders shed risk and pushed into safe-haven currencies like the dollar and yen. A rising dollar pressures gold and other commodities by making them more expensive overseas.

Oil prices also fell sharply on the softening global outlook, with WTI crude losing 2.6% for the day and 2.7% for the week. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The other precious metals were lower for the day and mixed for the week. Silver dropped 1.5% for a weekly loss of 0.4%. Platinum lost 1.5% for the day and 0.7% for the week. Palladium fell 1.6% on the day but squeaked higher by 0.1% for the week.

At the Comex close: February gold fell $6 to $1,241.40; March silver dropped 22 cents to $14.64; January platinum lost $12.20 to $785.30; and March palladium fell $19.10 to $1,171.60 an ounce.