Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold gained for a third day, adding 0.5% to close above $1,484 as trade tensions between the US and China continued to drive investors toward safe havens. The metal has risen 4.5% over the past seven sessions.

China stepped in stabilize the yuan today after the Trump administration label it a currency manipulator and asked the IMF to intervene. Beijing responded that it will refrain from using its "exchange rate as a tool to deal with trade disputes."

The move came after China, retaliating against the Trump Administrations announcement of new tariffs, slashed the yuan yesterday to the cheapest versus the dollar since 2008. Wall Street sold off sharply in response while gold surged above $1,475 as investors shed risk.

Today, Wall Street responded positively to China's intervention, with the Dow rebounding 1.3% after yesterday's selloff of nearly 3%.

But investors remain wary of the increasingly bitter conflict between Washington and Beijing, bidding up gold despite the rise in risk appetite. Officially designating China as a manipulator gives the White House legitimate reasons to take additional steps like ratcheting tariffs even higher.

Goldman Sachs said today that no trade deal is likely before the 2020 presidential elections. Morgan Stanley warned new tariffs could tip the global economy into recession within a year.

The other precious metals were mostly higher, with silver and palladium adding 0.3% and 1.5%, respectively, while platinum slid 0.5%.

At the Comex close: December gold gained $7.70 to $1,484.20; September silver picked up 5 cents to $16.45; October platinum slipped $4.70 to $853.20; and September palladium rose $20.70 to $1,437 an ounce.