Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold rallied 0.6% to close above $1,336 as weak jobs data and rising trade-war fears pressured stocks and the dollar, boosting demand for safe-haven assets. The metal finished the week 0.9% higher.

US nonfarm payrolls added just 103,000 new jobs in March, the smallest gain in six months, and totals for the previous two months were revised lower by 50,000. The unemployment rate remained at 17-year low of 4.1%. While March job growth fell well below expectations, the economy has still averaged more than 200,000 a month since the start of the year, beating 2017 and 2016.

Wages rose 0.3% in March, pushing the 12-month increase to 2.7%. Although an improvement over the 2% annual wage-growth of recent years, it is still far below the 3% to 4% typically seen in a tight job market.

The dollar sank 0.4% on the weak jobs data as traders speculated that the Fed will be less inclined to hike rates four times this year. To the point, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said today that the central bank will continue the slow pace to prevent "an unforeseen blow to the economy," all but ensuring only two more hikes in 2018. A weaker dollar supports gold by making it less expensive overseas.

Further boosting safe havens, US stock indexes plunged the US and China escalated trade-war tensions. President Trump called for tariffs of another $100 billion of Chinese products one day after Beijing announced of $50 billion in penalties on US goods. In response, China said it will "fight at any cost" to protect its economy interests. The Dow and Nasdaq both lost 2.3%.

The other precious metals were mixed for the day and week. Silver edged up less that 0.1% today for a weekly gain of 0.7%. Platinum added 0.2% for the session but lost 2.8% this week. Palladium fell 0.5% for a weekly loss of 7.8%. Both PMGs are widely used in auto manufacturing and therefore vulnerable to disruptions in global trade.

At the Comex close: June gold gained $7.60 to $1,336.10; May silver added one cent, to $16.36; July platinum picked up $2.20 to $914.10; and June palladium lost $4.95 to $895.15 an ounce.