Daily Gold Update

Source:Matt Warden, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold took advantage of a slow news day Monday to shed 0.8%, closing at $1,511.60, consolidating for a second straight trading session after having gained as much as 9% since the start of August. Investors are awaiting release of the Federal Reserve's July FOMC minutes scheduled for Wednesday, Chairman Powell’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole symposium planned for Friday, and news from a potentially contentious G7 summit being held over the weekend.

Focus will turn to July's FOMC minutes Wednesday, with investors eager for more information behind the Federal Reserve decision to cut overnight lending rates by 25 basis points. In an unusual move, two regional Fed presidents dissented the decision to cut rates, preferring to maintain the previous higher target range for the federal funds rate. In a news conference following the FOMC announcement, Powell indicated the rate cut was not the "beginning of a lengthy cutting cycle" but rather a "mid-cycle adjustment to policy". As a result, some analysts have called July's cut a "hawkish" rate cut.

Attention will return to Federal Reserve Chairman Powell on Friday, when he is scheduled to speak at the annual Jackson Hole symposium, where investors will be listening for hints about future U.S. monetary policy. Since the "hawkish" July rate cut announcement, global economic uncertainty has increased markedly: U.S.-China trade tensions have ramped up following a surprise August 1st announcement of additional tariffs on all remaining Chinese goods by the Trump administration, eurozone economic growth data has slipped further into contraction, a hard-Brexit has become more likely with Boris Johnson assuming the position of Prime Minister, and President Trump has openly called for at least a 100 basis point cut to the fed rate and "some quantitative easing as well" via Twitter.

This weekend's G7 summit will be marked by discussions on the U.S. China trade war, protests in Hong Kong, a European-backed Iranian nuclear deal, the first appearance of Boris Johnson on the world state as head of the UK government, the Brexit impasse, Russian election meddling and North Korea, among other topics, all areas of contention among the seven attendant nations.

The other precious metals ended the rather lowkey day mixed, with silver down 1.1%, while platinum rallied 0.6% and palladium surged 2.2% higher.

At the Comex close: December gold ended the day down $12.00 to $1,511.60 per ounce; September silver dropped 18 cents to $16.94 per ounce; October platinum gained $5.30 to $856.80 per ounce; September palladium rose $33.00 to $1,474.30 per ounce.