Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold added 0.5% to close at a two-week high near $1,875 as the escalating pandemic pressured bond yields while conflicting signals on a new coronavirus relief package from Congress fueled demand for safe havens. The metal has added nearly 6% over the past six sessions.

Global cases of COVID-19 rose above 67.6 million today with a death toll above 1.5 million as the world anxiously awaits vaccines. Over the past week, the US has averaged more than 200,000 daily new cases with a record-high 2,249 deaths per day.

Against this grim backdrop, negotiations over additional stimulus hit a snag after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell demanded Democrats drop their demand for funding for state and local governments hammered by pandemic-related expenses. But lawmakers are still optimistic that a compromise can be appended to a funding bill to avert a government shutdown on December 11.

Benchmark 10-year Treasurys rose alongside gold, depressing yields, fell again as investors shifted toward safety. Falling bond yields support gold by decreasing the opportunity cost for holding the metal, which produces no yield itself.

Capping gold's gains, Wall Street edged up on stimulus hopes and reports that Johnson & Johnson is developing a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine that may have late-stage trial results in January. The other major candidates all require two doses. The Dow and S&P 500 added 0.3% while the Nasdaq added 0.5%.

The other precious metals ended lower, with silver slipping 0.2% while platinum and palladium dropped 1.2% and 1%, respectively.

At the Comex close: February gold gained $8.90 to $1,874.90; March silver slid 6 cents to $24.74; January platinum dropped $12.40 to $1,037; and March palladium lost $23.40 to $2,327.90 an ounce.