Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold gained 0.2% to close above $1,460 as soft US economic data and lingering uncertainty about US-China trade relations underpinned demand for safe havens.

Consumer confidence fell for the fourth straight month in November, according to the Conference Board, with Americans expressing decreased optimism about the job market. While surveys on consumer sentiment focus on attitudes toward buying goods today, consumer confidence readings project out six months to offer a forward-looking metric on expected spending.

Comprising roughly 70% of GDP, consumer spending has almost single-handedly kept the US economy from slipping in into recession over the past year. The services and especially manufacturing sectors have struggled under the pressure of trade conflicts and slowing growth at home and abroad.

Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said today that US growth is likely to fall sharply in the fourth quarter as businesses cut inventories because of the trade war. The New York Fed and Atlanta Fed are projecting GDP growth 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell was more optimistic in a speech in Rhode Island, saying the data "paint a hopeful picture" for wage increases among "low- and middle-income workers." He also signaled that interest rates are likely stay low for a long while because inflation remains stuck below the Fed's 2% target.

Low rates support gold prices by reducing the opportunity cost for holding the metal instead of bonds, which offer a yield, and by making the dollar less attractive to foreign exchange investors seeking higher yields. A weaker dollar, in turn, makes gold less expensive in other currencies.

The other precious metals were also higher, with silver rising nearly 1% while platinum and palladium added 1.2% and 0.6%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold gained $3.40 to $1,460.30; December silver rose 16 cents to $17.05; January platinum climbed $11.30 to $911.70; and December palladium added $10.90, to $1,782.30 an ounce.