Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold dipped 0.1% to close at $1,840 as rising hopes for fiscal stimulus and coronavirus vaccines stoked stocks despite disappointing US jobs data. The metal finished the week with a gain of 2.9%, snapping a three-week losing streak.

US nonfarm payrolls added just 245,000 jobs in November, the smallest increase since May, as record increases in COVID-19 cases stalled the labor market. The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% as 400,000 people dropped out of the work force.

Wall Street rallied on the weak jobs data as traders speculated that a new pandemic relief package from Congress is now even more likely. Leaders of both political parties have expressed confidence in recent days that stimulus of around $900 billion is within reach.

The Dow and S&P 500 both added more than 0.8% while the Nasdaq rose 0.7%. All three indexes finished at new record highs.

Also fueling risk sentiment, Moderna announced today that it expects to produce 500 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, with 125 million coming in the first quarter.

The dollar hovered around a 30-month low on the stimulus and vaccine hopes. Additional stimulus is considered bullish for gold in its traditional rose as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.

The other precious metals were higher for the day and mixed for the week. Silver rose another 0.5% for a weekly gain of 7.1%. Platinum jumped 3.3% today and 11% this week. Palladium rose 1.7% but still fell 3% on the week.

At the Comex close: February gold dipped $1.10 to $1,840; 2.9% gain for the week. March silver picked up 12 cents to $24.25; January platinum added $34.20, to $1,072.80; and March palladium climbed to $2,357.80 an ounce.