Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold rose 0.3% to close at $1,287.50 as the dollar and equities fell on worries that the Republican tax plan may stall, boosting appetite for alternative assets.

The Senate and House are at odds over tax reform, which may jeopardize its quick passage into law. Among other things, the Senate wants to eliminate deductions for state and local taxes, while the House is expected to keep them. The Senate wants to keep the estate tax while the House wants it gone. And the House wants to slash corporate taxes to 20% in 2018, whereas the Senate may postpone the reduction until 2019.

Furthering the distance between the chambers, the CBO reported today that the House plan will increase the federal deficit by $1.7 trillion over 10 years, exceeding the Senate's ruled limit of $1.5 trillion.

Equities dropped sharply, with the Dow and S&P 500 both losing 0.5%, on fears that corporate tax cuts will be delayed by a year. The dollar also stumbled, dropping 0.4% against major rivals, as upbeat Eurozone growth reports boosted the euro.

The other precious metals were mixed, with silver and palladium falling 1% and 1.1%, respectively, while palladium added 0.3%.

At the Comex close: December gold rose $3.80 to $1,287.50; December silver lost 16 cents to $16.98; January platinum added $2.50, to $940.60; and December palladium dropped $11.40 to $1,004.40 an ounce.