Daily Gold Update

Source: Dr. Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin— Gold surged 1.8% to close above $1,417, its highest level since May, as investors scrambled for safe havens because of escalating tensions with Syria. After concluding that chemical weapons were used in a devastating attack on Syrian civilians, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the Assad government will be held accountable, signaling a probable military intervention by the U.S. and its allies.

Gold futures have now rebounded 20% from their 34-month bottom below $1,180 in June, putting the metal back into a technical bull market. The dollar and equity markets rolled back on risk-aversion while U.S. Treasury bonds gained alongside gold and silver, which added 2.2%. Platinum dropped 1% while palladium picked up 0.2%

At the Comex close: December gold surged $24.50 to $1,417.60; September silver jumped 53 cents to $24.54; October platinum dropped $14.50 to $1,530; and September palladium added $1.60, to $747.65 an ounce.

The IMF reported today that central banks continue to be net-buyers of gold bullion in order to diversify their currency reserves. Russia, the world's seventh-largest gold holder, added 6.3 tons in July while Turkey added 22.5 tons. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Guatemala also increased their gold reserves while Mexico was a seller. Central banks purchased 534.6 tons of gold last year, the most since 1964, and are forecast to add another 350 tons this year, according to the World Gold Council.