Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold dipped 0.3% to close under $1,250 after troubled Brexit negotiations hammered the pound and rallied the dollar, pressuring alternative stores of value.

British PM Theresa May postponed a crucial Parliamentary vote out of certainty that her Brexit plan would not pass. The long-negotiated deal with the EU over the terms of Britain's departure will be pushed from tomorrow until sometime in January, though little change in its terms are expected.

The UK pound plunged to a 20-month low as the impasse increases the possibility of a so-called hard Brexit, with no trade agreements in place, which could result in financial chaos for Britain and, to a lesser degree, the Eurozone.

The dollar jumped 0.6% on the tumbling pound, pressuring gold and other commodities priced in it for global trade by making them more expensive in other currencies.

Also weighing on gold, WTI crude prices fell 3.3% to a one-week low on worries that last week's OPEC agreement to cut production will not be enough to offset slowing global demand. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The other precious metals were also lower, with silver sliding 0.6% while platinum and palladium dropped 1.1% and 1%, respectively.

At the Comex close: February gold dipped $3.20 to $1,249.40; March silver shed 9 cents to $14.61; January platinum lost $8.30 to $782.10; and March palladium dropped $12.10 to $1,158.70 an ounce.