Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold dropped another 0.8% to close under $1,749 as yields and the dollar pushed higher ahead of this week's central bankers' meeting. It was the metal's sixth straight weaker session, the most since early July.

Markets are bracing for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to deliver a hawkish speech this Friday at the annual meeting of global bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Powell is expected to talk tough about inflation and the need for aggressive monetary tightening, reinforcing the message delivered by several Fed officials last week.

Wall Street tumbled as investors fret that rising interest rates may hurt the economy. The Dow and S&P 500 dropped 2% and 2.2%, respectively, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq plunged 2.6%. High-flying technology companies are hit harder by rising interest rates because their value is largely determined by future revenue, which is discounted by higher inflation and borrowing costs.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields climbed above the psychologically-important 3% threshold on the promise of higher rates. Higher yields pressure gold by increasing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds as a safe-haven asset.

The dollar rallied another 0.8% against major rivals, driving the euro back beneath parity for the first time in five weeks. A stronger dollar weighs on gold and other commodities by making them more expensive in other currencies, limiting demand overseas.

The other precious metals were also lower, with silver sliding 1% while platinum lost 2.3% and palladium shed 7%.

At the Comex close: December gold fell $14.50 to $1,748.40; September silver dropped 19 cents to $18.88; October platinum slid $20 to $868; and September palladium shed $149.60 to 1,981.80 an ounce.