Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slid 0.8% to close at a one-week low under $1,537 after an apparent de-escalation in the US-China trade war rallied stocks and the dollar, dulling demand for safe-haven assets. The metal has gained 7% in August on concerns about slowing global growth due, in part, to trade conflicts.

China's commerce ministry said today that no new tariffs will be levied, at least for now, in response to the additional duties imposed by the US last week. The spokesman also indicated negotiations are underway for a September meeting to discuss possible resolutions to the acrimonious trade dispute.

Wall Street jumped on the news, with the Dow and S&P 500 adding 1.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.5%.

The dollar rose more than 0.2% on the renewed trade optimism as traders shifted away from haven currencies like the yen and Swiss franc. A rising dollar tends to pressure gold and other commodities priced in it for global trade by making them more expensive in other currencies.

Some downbeat US data did little to stifle risk appetite. The government revised GDP growth for Q2 down slightly to 2%, well below the 3.1% increase in Q1. Pending home sales fell 2.5% in July, far more than forecast, as economic uncertainty weighed on demand despite mortgage rates near record lows.

The other precious metals were mixed, with silver falling 0.7% while platinum and palladium rose 1.2% and 0.6%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold slid $12.20 $1,536.90; December silver dropped 13 cents to $18.32; October platinum added 11.10 to $920; and December palladium picked up $9 to close at $1,471.50 an ounce.