Gold hanging tough near $1,800 an ounce even after U.S. Commerce department data shows modest growth in U.S. Manufacturing. The yellow metal made small gains early in the day on an easing dollar and a downtick in U.S. Treasury yields.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders fell by 0.4 percent in September after jumping by a downwardly revised 1.3 percent in August. Economists had expected durable goods orders to slump by 1.1 percent.
On Tuesday, U.S. equities rose to all-time closing highs on strong earnings. This morning, The Dow Jones is slightly down this morning, but still aiming for the fourth positive day in a row.
Investors awaited policy decisions from key central banks on Thursday for additional direction.
December gold futures fell 0.7% Tuesday to settle at $1,793.40 an ounce on Comex as the front-month contract slipped 0.2% in the first two days of the week. Gold retreated 3.4% in September after gaining just 90 cents in August. It dropped $14.60 in the third quarter. The yellow metal is down 5.4% so far in 2021. The December contract is up currently by $4.20 (+0.23%) an ounce to $1,797.60 and the DG spot price is $1,795.70.
Holdings in SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose 0.2% Tuesday to 979.81 metric tons, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, China’s net gold imports via Hong Kong rose almost 60% last month to a five-month high, according to data from the Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.
In economic news, the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, released Tuesday, showed home prices rose 19.8% in August, compared with the year earlier, a rate unchanged from the prior month. But it was the first time the year-on-year gain hadn’t grown since early in 2020, a possible indicator that that housing market is slowing.
In other news, the U.S. consumer confidence index showed a surprise jump in separate data released Tuesday. The index increased in October for the first time in four months, according to the Conference Board.
Investors will be watching for the release of U.S. data on wholesale inventories and durable goods on Wednesday and U.S. GDP and weekly initial jobless claims on Thursday for guidance on the direction of the economy. On Friday, G-20 finance and health ministers will meet jointly ahead of a summit of the countries’ leaders over the weekend.
Federal Reserve policymakers meet next week and are expected to begin responding to inflationary pressures. Before that, the Bank of Japan and European Central Bank have policy announcements scheduled for Thursday.
December silver futures decreased 2.1% Tuesday to settle at $24.09 an ounce on Comex after the front-month contract retreated 1.5% in the first two days of the week. Silver dropped 8.2% in September, its fourth consecutive monthly decline, and plummeted 16% in the third quarter. The metal is down 8.8% so far this year. Silver prices are tied to industrial demand. The December contract is up $$0.167 (+0.69%) an ounce to $24.255 and the DG spot price is $24.23.
Spot palladium fell 2.5% Tuesday to $2,013.00 an ounce and lost 1.6% so far this week. It dropped 23% in September, 31% in the third quarter and is down 18% so far in 2021. Currently, the DG spot price is down $31.80 an ounce to $1,995.00.
Spot platinum declined 2.9% Tuesday to $1,038.00 an ounce and fell 1.4% so far this week. The metal lost 5.3% last month and 10% last quarter. It’s down 3.3% so far this year. The DG spot price is currently down $11.10 an ounce to $1,026.80.
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