Daily Gold Update

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold fell 1.5% to close just under $1,289 after statements by Vladimir Putin and Janet Yellen sapped safe-haven demand. The Russian president called on pro-Russian separatists to back off from demands for a referendum on secession. Apparently wary of overplaying his hand, Putin said he is ready to discuss a way out of the crisis with the head of the Organization or Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Further pressuring the gold price, Fed Chair Yellen gave a generally upbeat report on the U.S economy in testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress. Citing "sufficient underlying strength," Yellen said further reductions in stimulus are warranted and the central bank's program of bond-buying, known as quantitative easy, will likely draw to a close this year. QE helped gold rise by around 60% since 2008 by devaluing the dollar and increasing the risk of long-term inflation.

Risk appetite returned on the upbeat news, with the Dow adding nearly 120 points. The other precious metals followed gold's lead. Silver also dropped 1.5% while sister metals platinum and palladium lost 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively.

At the Comex close: June gold $19.70 to $1,288.90; July silver dropped 30 cents to $19.34; July platinum lost $23.30 to $1,434.80; and June palladium tumbled $21.70 to $796.70 an ounce.