Daily Gold Update

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold slipped 1%, after climbing 4% in the previous two sessions, as the dollar rallied on upbeat U.S. economic data and speculation that the Fed will taper stimulus later this year. Sales of new cars hit a five-month high in June and factory orders rose by 2.1% in May, indicating gradual momentum may be building in the recovery. Economists surveyed by Reuters expect unemployment to improve slightly to 7.5% when the next non-farms payroll report is released on Friday.

The dollar rose against most major rivals, driving above 100 yen for the first time in four weeks, as currency traders increased their bets that the Fed will reduce quantitative easing later this year. Tantamount to printing money, QE has devalued the dollar and spurred higher gold prices as investors sought alternatives stores of value. The other metals were mixed, with silver and platinum dropping 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively, while palladium edged higher by 0.3%

At the Comex close: August gold fell $12.30 to $1,243.40; September silver slid 27 cents to $19.31; October platinum lost $14.7 to $1,367.80; and September palladium added $2.20, to $688.90 an ounce.