AGE Daily Gold Update

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

6/22/2021: Gold slips before Powell testimony

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin — Gold slipped 0.3% to close under $1,775 as traders took profits from yesterday's rise ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony on monetary policy. The metal then climbed back above $1,780 in electronic trade after Powell stuck to his dovish stance.

Speaking to Congress' joint committee on the pandemic, the central bank chief again dismissed rapidly rising inflation over the past few months as "transitory supply effects" caused by the reopening economy. He expressed "a level of confidence" that prices will come down as supply-chain bottlenecks pass.

Although the economy is showing "sustained improvement," Powell said, challenges remain in the labor market, which he called weaker than the unemployment rate suggests. The Fed's new policy framework of "inflation averaging" would allow prices to inflation to rise above 2% for a sustained period to achieve maximum employment.

Separately, New York Fed President John Williams said any discussions about raising interest rates are "way off in the future."

The dollar fell from mild gains to losses of around 0.3% on the dovish commentary. Treasury yield also slid, with benchmark 10-year yields declining to 4.75%.

Blocking gold's gain, risk appetite rose after the Fed reassurances about easy money, with the Nasdaq jumping 0.8% while the Dow and S&P 500 added 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively.

The other precious metals were mixed, with silver dropping 0.7% while platinum climbed 1.8% and palladium added 0.1%.

At the Comex close: August gold slid $5.50 to $1,777.40; July silver dropped 17 cents to $25.86; July platinum added $19.60, to $1,070.20; and September palladium edged up $1.50 to $2,558.90 an ounce.