Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold dipped 0.2% to close under $1,237 as traders took profits from five straight session gains. Rallies in the dollar and equities also pressured alternative assets.

Donald Trump said today that a "phenomenal" tax plan will be forthcoming within a few weeks. While no details were provided, traders seized on the announcement as the first step in Trump's much-awaited program to stimulate economic growth.

The dollar rebounded by 0.5% on the Trump proclamation, though it remains down 1.6% so far in 2017, and Treasury yields ticked slightly higher after hitting a three-week low yesterday. A strong dollar tends to pressure gold by making it more expensive to users of other currencies.

Wall Street also jumped, with all three major U.S. indexes gaining more than 0.6% and hitting record highs. The prospect of lower taxes on individuals and corporations was enough to re-ignite risk appetite, gone dormant in recent sessions, on hopes that Trump will now turn his attention to fulfilling campaign promises to spend $1 trillion on rebuilding infrastructure.

More directly tied to industry, the other precious metals finished higher. Silver added 0.2% while platinum and palladium rose 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.

At the Comex close: April gold dropped $2.70 to $1,236.80; March silver added 4 cents to $17.74; April platinum picked up $2.80 to $1,022.20; and March rose $2.80 to $772.55 an ounce.