Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold gained 0.4% to close at $1,248.50 on jitters over the potential fallout from the meeting between President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, which begins today.

After months of strong rhetoric, Trump will sit down with his counterpart from the world's second-largest economy to discuss trade policy. If the two-day meeting ends in acrimony, risk-off sentiment would likely dominate financial markets as pressures for protectionism escalate, shifting sentiment toward safe havens like gold and Treasury bonds.

China-bashing was a mainstay of Trump's campaign, during which he labeled the nation a "world champion" of currency manipulation, unfair trade partner, and thief of American jobs.

Gold was further supported by comments from House Speaker Paul Ryan late yesterday, who predicted that tax reform will be more difficult to achieve than healthcare reform. A centerpiece of Trump's pro-growth agenda, the promise of tax cuts for individuals and corporations helped drive equity markets to record highs last quarter.

The other precious metals were mixed, with silver climbing 0.3% while platinum and palladium slid 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively.

At the Comex close: June gold gained $4.80 to $1,248.50; May silver added 6 cents just $18.25; July platinum dipped 70 cents to $958.90; and June palladium for delivery lost $3.65 to $804.10 an ounce.