Daily Gold Update

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold jumped 1.4% after Fed Chair nominee Janet Yellen voiced support for continued monetary stimulus, stoking demand for the metal as a store of value. Warning that "the recovery is fragile" and the economy is performing "far short" of its potential, Yellen told the Senate Banking Committee that the Fed must be careful not remove stimulus too soon.

Traders took Yellen's comments to signify that any tapering of quantitative easing, the program of buying $85 billion in long-term bonds each month, would likely be delayed until well after she succeeds Ben Bernanke in January. QE supports higher gold and equities prices by flooding the markets with liquidity, devaluing the dollar, and increasing the risk of long-term inflation.

U.S. stock indexes extended their record run as the Dow added another 0.3% and the S&P 500 closed 0.5% higher. Commodities and the other precious metals tracked gold higher, with silver adding 1.4%. Sister metals platinum and palladium rose 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold jumped $17.90 to $1,286.30; December silver gained 28 cents to $20.72; January platinum picked up $12.10 to $1,444; and December palladium added $4.35, to $739.80 an ounce.