Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold slipped 0.4% but held near an 11-month high above $1,314 as upbeat US data boosted the dollar, cutting into demand for alternative stores of value. Ongoing concerns about North Korea underpinned prices, however, as investors continue cleaving towards safety.

ADP said 237,000 jobs were added to the private sector in August, well-above expectations, and July's total was revised upward to by 23,000 to 201,000. Almost all the increases came in the services sector.

GDP growth was revised upward from 2.6% to 3% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported today, marking the strongest quarter in two years. Most of the rise came from consumer spending and business investment.

The same report showed inflation receding from the Fed's 2% target, however. The PCE price index, the Fed's preferred measure, dropped to 1.6%, down from 2% in Q1, while the core PCE fell to 1.5%. Increasingly, Fed members are pointing to softer inflation as a reason to refrain from additional rate hikes.

The dollar bounced higher on the data, adding 0.6% against major rivals after plunging to a 30-month low earlier this week. A rising buck tends to weigh on gold and other commodities priced in it for international trade by making them more expensive overseas.

Tensions with North Korea kept helped to limit gold's losses after President Trump said, "talking is not the answer" to the stand-off over the rogue nation's nuclear missile program, escalating concerns about a possible military confrontation.

The other precious metals were also lower, with silver edging down less than 0.1% while platinum and palladium lost 0.8% and 1.3%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold slipped $4.80 to $1,314.10; December silver dipped 1 cent to $17.51; October platinum dropped $8.30 to $995.20; and December palladium fell $12.65 to $931.05 an ounce.