Daily Gold Update

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold fell 0.9% after soft U.S. economic data and worries about the so-called fiscal cliff drove investors to seek liquidity. Stocks fell for a third straight session, deepening their worst correction since June, as soaring jobless claims and weak factory output in the New York and Philadelphia regions, exacerbated by Hurricane Sandy, added to risk-off sentiment. In addition, investors are anxious that Congress and President Obama will be unable to reach an agreement on fiscal policy before $600 billion in cuts and tax increases are triggered on January 1, potentially tilting the recovery back into recession. Gold sometimes trades as a risk asset, correlating strongly with equities and commodities, and today was one of those times. A rising dollar and the settlement of mining strikes in South Africa also weighed on precious metals, with silver dropping 0.6%, platinum 1.5%, and palladium 1.6%.

At the Comex close: December gold fell $16.30 to $1,713.80; December silver slipped 21 cents to $32.67; January platinum dropped $18.30 to $1,571.30; and December palladium lost $10.30 to $634.15 an ounce.