Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold was little-changed for a third session, inching 70 cents lower to close at $1,313, as surging oil prices sparked a rally in equities, neutralizing demand for alternative assets.

Oil jumped nearly 3% to reach another 3.5-year high above $70 as traders speculated that President Trump's decision to end the Iran nuclear agreement and impose sanctions will curtail supplies from the Middle East. In addition, the EIA reported domestic crude supplies fell 2.2 million barrels last week, further supporting higher prices.

Surging oil sparked a rally on Wall Street, driving energy shares 2.4% higher and pushing the S&P 500 up 1%. The rise in risk appetite pulled investors away from safe havens, offsetting the support gold received from traders hedging against energy-related inflation.

The dollar traded sideways, vacillating between tiny gains and losses, as traders struggled to gauge the likely fallout from the broken Iran deal. Weaker-than-expected wholesale inflation data, with the PPI adding just 0.1% in April, also weighed on the buck, raising uncertainty over the future course of rate hikes from the Fed.

The World Gold Council reported inflows into gold-based ETFs hit a 13-month high in April, fueled by wavering global equities and rising inflation.

The other precious metals finished higher, with silver picking up 0.4% while platinum and palladium added 0.5% and 0.8%, respectively.

At the Comex close: June gold inched 70 cents lower to $1,313; July silver added 7 cents, to $16.55; July platinum rose $4.50 to $916.60; and June palladium climbed $7.20 to $970.60 an ounce.