Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold dipped 0.2% to close under $1,269 as the dollar strengthened against the UK pound and traders prepared for this week's meeting of the Federal Reserve.

The dollar hit a seven-week high against the UK pound today as financial markets continue processing last week's shocking loss by the Conservative Party in Britain's snap election. PM Theresa May called the election to strengthen her control of Parliament ahead of this months' Brexit negotiations with EU. Instead, her party lost a governing majority, creating new uncertainty in the British economy.

The Fed begins it two-day meeting on monetary policy tomorrow. The market places the odds of a quarter-point rate hike at 97%, supporting the dollar and weighing on gold and other commodities denominated in the currency for international trade.

However, the pace of hikes after that may be up in the air after a spate of softer economic data, including a subpar nonfarm payrolls report for May, and political uncertainty surrounding alleged ties between the Trump administration and Russia.

The other precious metals were mixed. Silver fell 1.6% while platinum and palladium gained 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively. It was palladium highest close since September 2014.

At the Comex close: August gold dipped $2.50 to $1,268.90; July silver lost 28 cents to $16.94; July platinum added $4.20, to $944.50; and September palladium climbed another $8.05 to at $864.25 an ounce.