Daily Gold Update

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold dipped 0.4%, holding above $1,144 as traders took profits from four days of gains. Following the release of relatively dovish minutes from the FOMC September meeting, the metal then jumped above $1,150 in electronic trade before surrendering those gains to rising risk appetite.

The Fed minutes showed the central bankers nearly unanimous in their desire to wait for additional data before raising rates because of growing global risks. While acknowledging that the economy is "expanding at a moderate pace" and conditions are close to warranting higher rates, they are concerned that slowing growth in China and the "higher level of the dollar" will "restrain economic activity" and prevent inflation from reaching target levels at home.

The pervasive wait-and-see attitude came as something of a surprise, as the Fed had strongly telegraphed the September meeting as likely to produce the first rate hike in nine years. Softer jobs, manufacturing, services, and GDP data released in the weeks since the meeting have validated the caution.

Equities perked up after minutes, shifting sentiment from safe havens to risk assets, with the Dow rising 0.8% and the Global Dow 0.6%. The dollar slipped as traders speculated that a hike this year is increasingly unlikely. The CME FedWatch tool, which monitor trade in Fed fund futures, puts the odds of a December hike at just 38%.

The other precious metals were mixed on the day, with silver falling 2% while platinum and palladium added 1% and 0.5%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold dipped $4.40 to $1,144.30; December silver dropped 33 cents, to $15.77; January platinum added $9.20, to $955.60; and December palladium climbed $3.65 to $703.15 an ounce.