Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold gained 0.6% to close at a three-week high above $1,540 as rising geopolitical and trade tensions, dulled risk appetite and boosted demand for safe havens.

President Trump ratcheted up trade-war worries today by severely criticizing China in a speech to the UN General Assembly. Accusing China of unfair trade practices, theft of intellectual property, and reneging on WTO agreements, he weighed in on current negotiations by warning that the US will not accept a "bad deal."

Wall Street fell immediately after the President's speech on deepening trade-war gloom, with the Dow dropping 0.8% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.6%.

Further undermining risk appetite, US consumer sentiment sank to a three-month low in September on growing concerns about tariffs. With the manufacturing and services sectors slowing sharply in recent months, consumer spending has almost single-handedly kept the US economy expanding.

Geopolitics also pushed investors toward gold today. The UK supreme court declared unlawful PM Boris Johnson's closure of Parliament this month. Johnson apparently sought to reduce the lawmakers' ability to prevent his plan to exit the EU without a trade agreement.

And here at home, Congress is moving closer to launching an impeachment inquiry after President Trump allegedly withheld aid to force the Ukraine to dig up dirt on the son of political rival Joe Biden.

The other precious metals were mostly higher, with platinum and palladium adding 0.2% and 1.3%, respectively, while silver slipped 0.4%.

At the Comex close: December gold gained $8.70 to $1,540.20; December silver dropped 8 cents to $18.63; October platinum added $1.50, to $955.40; and December palladium climbed $20.80 to $1,646.40 an ounce.