Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold fell 1.3% to close under $1,330 as easing trade tensions boosted risk appetite, enticing traders to take profits from the metal's 4.7% rally over the previous eight sessions.

On Friday, President Trump suspended plans to impose heavy tariffs on Mexico after reaching an agreement to reduce the flow of illegal immigrants. The threat of a new trade war with America's largest trading partner had rattled financial markets last week, helping to propel gold to a 2.7% weekly rise.

Also quelling market jitters, finance ministers and central bankers from the G-20 nations ended their meeting in Japan yesterday by pledging to protect global growth from disruptive trade policies.

Global equities rose on the upbeat trade news, with the S&P 500 and Global Dow both adding 0.5% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq jumped 1.1%.

The dollar rose 0.2% against major rivals, pressuring gold and other commodities priced in it for international trade by making them more expensive in other currencies. 10-year Treasury yields jumped the most in nine-weeks as investors shifted out of safe havens.

Oil prices fell, with WTI crude dropping 1.2% to around $53 per barrel, after Russia signaled that it might not extend production curbs when they expire at the end of June. Worries about slowing global growth also weighed on sentiment. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

The other precious metals were mixed, with silver dropping 2.6% while platinum dipped 0.1% and palladium rose 2.3%.

At the Comex close: August gold slid $16.80 to $1,329.30; July silver lost 39 cents to $14.64; July platinum dipped 90 cents to $805.20; and September palladium jumped $30.30 to $1,386.80 an ounce.