Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinNew York spot gold gained 0.4% to close near $2,917 on continuing safe-haven demand despite an uptick in the dollar as investors brace for important inflation data on Friday. Silver added 0.1% to 31.83 an ounce.

New home sales plunged nearly 11% in January, more than expected, on high mortgage rates and elevated prices. New homes have been the housing market's brightest sector in recent years, but that glow is fading.

Like consumer sentiment, which tumbled 10% to a 15-month low in January, homebuilder confidence fell sharply last month, driven by anxiety over the inflationary effects of tariffs on construction costs.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hovered near an 11-week low under 4.3% as investors, worried about tariffs and US economic growth, eschew risk. The dollar picked up 0.3% against major rivals, bouncing off its own 11-week low. The buck has tumbled 4% since mid-January as worries have escalated about White House trade policies and the economy.

Lower yields and a weaker dollar have helped to fuel gold's remarkable rally to a series of new record highs over the past several weeks. This Friday's release of the personal consumer expenditures index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, promises to be an important signpost for further moves in the short term.

Platinum and palladium added 0.4% and 0.5%, respectively.

New York spot gold gained $12.30 to $2,916.80; silver added 3 cents to $31.83; platinum picked up $.30 to $969.30; and palladium rose $5 to $933.60 an ounce.