LONDON: Gold edged down in Europe on Wednesday as traders took profits after the previous session’s two percent gains on the back of a larger-than-expected interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve. The market is awaiting fresh direction from the crude oil market, which rose ahead of an expected production cut from the OPEC. Spot gold was quoted at $855.60/857.60 an ounce at 1024 GMT, little changed from $857.35 an ounce late in New York on Tuesday. US gold futures for February delivery were up $14.70 at $857.40. Gold climbed in late New York trade on Tuesday after the Fed said it was cutting rates to between zero and 0.25 percent, knocking the dollar lower and prompting further rate cuts from Hong Kong and Kuwait. Among other precious metals, platinum and palladium were little changed. The two metals, which are primarily used to make catalytic converters, have fallen sharply in recent months on fears demand would suffer from a slowdown in car sales. Platinum is now trading close to parity with gold, a situation last seen in 1996. However, the metal is likely to recover next year, analysts said. Spot platinum was quoted at $856/866 an ounce against $860.50 late in New York on Tuesday, while palladium was at $176.50/181.50 an ounce against $178. Silver fell to $10.98/11.06 an ounce from $11.21. reuters
