Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold edged 0.2% higher to close above $1,266, bouncing off a four-month low, as geopolitical concerns overcame a rising dollar and upbeat employment data to boost safe-haven demand

ADP reported that the private sector added 190,000 jobs in November, beating expectations and building optimism for Friday's release of the more-authoritative US nonfarm payrolls report.

Separately, the BLS said ">productivity rose 3% in Q3, the most in a quarter in three years, with economic output rising 4.1%. After years of subpar increases, the strong upswing bodes well for economic momentum heading into 2018. However, unit labor costs declined 0.2% behind soft wages, a persistent worry for the Fed as it considers future rate hikes.

The dollar added 0.3% against major rivals on the upbeat data, assisted by a further decline in the pound as UK and EU negotiations over Brexit continue to falter. A stronger dollar typically weighs on gold and other commodities by making them more expensive to holders of other currencies.

Overcoming pressure from data and the dollar, gold pushed higher after President Trump threatened a partial shutdown of government over budget negotiations, claiming Democrats merely want "illegal immigrants pouring into our country." In addition, the Trump administration announced a controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, potentially sparking unrest in the Middle East.

The World Gold Council reported today that bullion holdings in gold-backed ETFs rose 9.1 tons last month, with greatest increase coming from Europe as a hedge against a weaker dollar.

The other precious metals were mostly lower, with silver and platinum sliding 0.7% and 1.6% while outlier palladium picked up 1%.

At the Comex close: February gold gained $1.20 to $1,266.10; March silver slid 7 cents to $15.96; January platinum lost $14.70 to $902.80; and March palladium rose to $9.80 to $986.95 an ounce.