Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold slipped 0.4% to close under $1,761 as rising stocks and bonds yields lifted the dollar, prompting traders to take profits from the metal's three-day rise.

US service industries expanded more quickly in September. The ISM survey posted 61.9%, marking a slight increase over August's 61.7%, with labor shortages and supply-chain problems limiting even faster growth. Any reading over 50% indicates expansion.

Wall Street applauded the upbeat data, with all three major indexes rising more than 1.1% as investors shifted from safety toward risk following yesterday's selloff.

Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields pushed back above 1.5%, pressuring gold by increasing the opportunity cost for holding it instead of bonds as a safe-haven asset.

The dollar added 0.2% to reach a one-year high against major rivals as traders position themselves for this Friday's nonfarm payrolls report. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said recently that one more "decent" jobs report would likely convince the Fed to begin tapering monetary stimulus in November, leading to an interest rate increase sometime next year.

Higher interest rates typically lift the dollar by attracting Forex investment seeking higher yield, in turn weighing on gold by making it more expensive in other currencies, damping overseas demand.

The other precious metals were mostly lower, with silver and platinum declining 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively, while outlier palladium added 1.3%.

At the Comex close: December gold slid $6.70 to $1,760.90; December silver dipped 4 cents to $22.61; January platinum slipped $1.80 to $959.80; and December palladium gained $24.40 to $1,899.40 an ounce.