AGE Daily Gold Update

AGE Daily Gold Update presents a recap on today's action in the precious metals markets. View archives.

8/7/2020: Gold eases into 2.2% weekly gain

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin — Gold eased 2% to finish at $2,028 as solid payrolls data lifted the dollar, reducing demand for alternative stores of value. The metal still ended the week 2.2% higher after notching five consecutive record-high closes.

US nonfarm payrolls added nearly 1.8 million jobs in July, drawing the unemployment rate down from 11.1% to 10.2%. The increase was slightly above most forecasts but merely one-third of the 4.8 million of the jobs restored in June, when the nation began to emerge in earnest from coronavirus lockdowns that laid off more than 22 million Americans.

The better-than-expected job growth took some pressure off Congress to ratify additional aid after weeks of contentious negotiations. Wall Street fell on the dimming prospect of immediate transfusions of new stimulus, which have helped to lift the devastated US economy while fueling massive rallies in the stock market. The Dow and S&P 500 slid by 0.4% and Nasdaq fell 1.4%.

The dollar rebounded sharply, rising 0.8% against major rivals on speculation that the upbeat data may reduce the amount of aid delivered by Congress. A rising dollar typically pressures gold and other commodities by making them more expensive in other currencies.

The combination of near-zero interest rates and unlimited quantitative easing from the Fed, along with more than $3 trillion in fiscal stimulus, has knocked the buck to two-year lows against major rivals like the euro and Swiss franc. At the same time, it has helped to lift gold to new record highs above $2,000 an ounce.

The other precious metals were lower for the day but higher for the week. Silver dropped 3% today but still rose 13.7% this week. Platinum fell 4.2% but gained 5.6% this week. Palladium slid 3.7% today but held a gain of 1.5% this week.

At the Comex close: December gold fell $41.40 to $2,028; September silver lost 86 cents to $27.54; October platinum dropped $43.50 to $970.40; and September palladium shed $82.80 to $2.176.60 an ounce.