Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold dipped 0.4% to close under $1,978 after hawkish comments from Fed officials lifted yields and the dollar, undermining alternative assets.

St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, a noted policy hawk, said today that he advocates two more rate hikes of 25 basis points this year to put the benchmark rate at 5.75% to 6%. While the timing of the increases is uncertain, he'd like them to occur "sooner rather than later."

Neel Kashkari of the Minneapolis Fed, often a dovish voice, took Bullard's outlook one step further, saying that the Fed may have to push rates "north of 6%" to bring inflation down to its 2% target.

Both statements ran counter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's message on Friday that rates "may not need to rise as much" as previously expected because tighter credit from regional banking stress is already doing the work of additional rate hikes.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields surpassed 3.7% on the Fed speak, pressuring gold by increasing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds as a safe-haven asset.

The dollar tracked slightly higher with yields. A stronger dollar weighs on gold and other commodities by making them pricier in other currencies, limiting overseas demand.

The other precious meals were mixed, with silver and palladium dropping 0.8% and 2.1%, respectively, while platinum edges up 0.2%.

At the Comex close: June gold dipped $4.40 to $1,977.20; July silver slid 20 cents to $23.86; July platinum picked up $1.60 to $1,077.30; and June palladium declined by $31.60 to $1,492.20 an ounce.