Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold surged 2.9% to close near $1,228, the highest level in more than two months, as global equities extended their selloff, spurring demand for safe-haven assets.

Following yesterday's 3.2% plunge, the Dow lost another 2.1% as worries about trade wars, rising interest rates, and higher bond yields shook investors faith in the nine-year US bull market in stocks. The S&P 500 also shed another 2.1%, for cumulative losses of 6% over the past six sessions.

The so-called Wall Street fear gauge, the VIX volatility index, jumped to the highest point in eight months. Global equites, as measured by the MSCI World Index, fell to a one-year low on contagion from the US markets.

President Trump blasted the Federal Reserve as the cause of the selloff, railing against its three rate hikes this year as "crazy" and "loco." While such finger-pointing is unlikely to sway future Fed policy decisions, it helped to pressure the dollar into a 0.5% loss against major rivals. A falling dollar supports gold and other commodities priced in it for global trade b y making them less expensive overseas.

Safe-haven currencies like the yen and Swiss franc also drew forex investors away from the buck, and the UK pound rallied on growing optimism that a Brexit agreement will be reached with the EU. US Treasurys also rallied on safe-haven inflows, stemming this week's rise in yields.

The other precious metals were also higher, with silver and platinum jumping 2% and 2.3%, respectively, while palladium added 0.5%.

At the Comex close: December gold surged $34.20 to $1,227.60; December silver jumped 28 cents to $14.61; January platinum gained $19.30 to $846.60; and December palladium added $8, to $1,075.20 an ounce.