Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold recouped 1.2% to close above $1,876 as risk appetite receded after yesterday's euphoria over a potential coronavirus vaccine gave way to concerns about the raging pandemic.

The New York Times tracker reported more than 130,500 new cases of COVID-19 in the US with 745 deaths yesterday as the spread of the virus once again threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system. Cases are rising in 47 states, with at least 12 setting records. The number of average daily cases has risen 64% in the past two weeks and deaths have pushed above 238,000.

The announcement of a potential vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech yesterday shined a light in an otherwise dark tunnel. But genuine relief will remain elusive, perhaps for many months, as production and distribution timelines and logistics are worked out.

Wall Street was mixed today as optimism was leavened with reality. The Dow added 0.8% while the S&P 500 dipped 0.2%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.5%, with traders rotating out of high-flying growth stocks and back toward distressed value blue chips and small caps.

Rebounding after yesterday's 5% plunge, gold found its footing on expectations that global fiscal and monetary easing will continue for the foreseeable future as governments and central banks struggle to restore growth. Easy money policies support the metal by devaluing currencies and boosting the risk of long-term inflation.

The other precious metals were moistly higher, with silver and platinum adding 3.2% and 2.9% while palladium dropped 1.1%.

At the Comex close: December gold gained $22 to $1,876.40; December silver rose 76 cents to $24.46; January platinum picked up $25.30 to $892.70; and December palladium dropped $27.80 to $2,471.40 an ounce.