Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slipped 0.3% to close under $1,809 as positive jobs data ahead of tomorrow's nonfarm payrolls report lifted stocks and yields, pressuring safe-haven assets.

First-time jobless claims fell by 14,000 last week to 385,000, suggesting that the raging Delta variant of the coronavirus is having less impact on the labor market than feared. Continuing claims fell below three million for the first time since the pandemic hit in earnest in March 2020.

The upbeat jobless data softened the blow from yesterday's disappointingly low ADP report. Merely 383,000 new jobs were added to private payrolls in July, roughly half of most forecasts. The more definitive federal nonfarm payrolls report is due tomorrow.

Wall Street ran with the good news, with the Dow and S&P 500 adding 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Nasdaq picked up 0.7%.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields edged up above 1.2% as rising risk appetite pushed some investors to exchange bonds for stocks. Higher yields weigh on gold by increasing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds as a safe-haven asset.

The dollar was little changed.

The other precious metals were mostly lower, with silver and platinum shedding 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively, while palladium added 0.1%.

At the Comex close: December gold slipped $5.60 to $1,808.90; September silver dropped 17 cents to $25.29; October platinum fell $15.60 to 1,005.70; and September palladium added $3.40, to $2,655.10 an ounce.