Daily Gold Update

Source: Dana Samuelson, American Gold Exchange

Austin, TX— December gold declined in New York for the second session in a row, closing at $1,661.70, down $8, or 0.5% in light trade. Early in the New York session gold traded as high as $1,671, then profit taking kicked in when news of a modest upward revision in U.S. GDP growth hit the street. The dollar gained and gold reacted, trading as low as $1,654.40 before rebounding back above $1,660 as the session ended. September silver declined also, falling a modest $0.14, or 0.4%, closing the session at $30.74. Silvers trading range was between $30.61 and $30.99 today. October platinum closed the New York session at $1,520, virtually unchanged from yesterday�s close of $1,520.40. Platinum did show modest weakness today, trading as low as $1,510 ($5 below the $1,515 support level we identified yesterday) before moving higher again. September palladium fell 0.9%, ending the session at $634.25, down $5.45 from yesterday.

The Commerce Department upwardly revised by 0.2% their U.S. economic growth report today for the April to June period, from 1.5% to 1.7%, citing higher consumer spending and slower growth in imports. Upon release of the report the U.S. dollar index moved modestly higher from yesterday�s close of 81.334 to 81.544. In the short-term the dollar index continues to trade above major support at 81.00. Gold usually trades inversely to the dollar, so today we saw modest dollar strength and modest gold weakness on slightly better U.S. economic news. In addition, according to the Fed�s Beige Book, the U.S. economy grew �gradually� last month with 6 of the Fed�s 12 districts showing modest growth, and 3 more showing moderate growth. While the U.S. economy continues to underperform, and forecasts for the rest of the year are anticipating only slightly higher GDP figures of 2% in the third quarter and 1.9% in the fourth quarter, traders continue to cautiously look forward to Ben Bernanke�s speech this Friday for any signs of further economic stimulus from the Fed to bolster the plodding U.S. economy.