Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold slipped 0.5% to close just above $1,233 in regular trade as oil fell and the dollar strengthened, cutting into demand for alternative assets. The metal then recouped all those losses in electronic trade, rising back above $1,239, after the minutes from the last Fed meeting signaled uncertainty over the timing of future rate hikes.

Crude oil logged its first loss in four sessions, dropping 1.4% on growing concern that non-OPEC producers, especially Russia, will not comply with the recent agreement to curtail production. Gold often trades in sympathy with oil as a hedge against energy-related inflation.

Before the release of the Fed minutes, a mildly higher dollar also pressured gold. Both trades changed direction, however, when the latest FOMC meeting showed "considerable uncertainty" over the fiscal policies of the new Trump administration. The dollar weakened into mild losses of around 0.2% while gold added more than $6.

The other precious metals finished lower, with silver dipping 0.3% while platinum and palladium lost 0.3% and 1.3%. Silver then recouped into slight gains after hours while the PMGs extended their losses.

At the Comex close: April gold slipped $5.60 to $1,233.30; May silver dropped 5 cents to $18.02; April platinum fell $3.30 to $1,002.70 and June palladium lost $9.95 to $770.20 an ounce.