Daily Gold Update

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold dipped 0.1% to close at $1,299 after better-than-expected housing data cut into safe-haven buying. Sales of existing homes jumped 3.4% in March, spurring renewed hopes for the housing market after a surprisingly weak February. Risk appetite revived on the report, pushing the Dow higher by half a percent.

Gold's losses were mitigated by the announcement of deeper sanctions against Russia by the U.S. Putin's inner circle of billionaire industrialists will now be targeted for financial restrictions in an attempt to pressure the Russian President into curtailing his actions to unsettle the Ukraine. The growing instability in the region has been triggering intentional flights to safe haven assets. The other precious metals outpaced gold's decline, with silver sliding 0.5% while platinum and palladium dropped 0.3% and 1.3%, respectively.

At the Comex close: June gold dipped $1.80 to $1,299; May silver slid 10 cents to $19.59; July platinum dropped $4.60 to $1,419.70; and June palladium fell $10.50 to $800.70 an ounce.