Broad-based pullback for metals as traders play off central bank By Claudia Assis and Chris Oliver, MarketWatch SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures pared losses Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates the same and said it would continue its Operation Twist program through the end of the year. Gold for August delivery GCQ2 -0.55% declined $6.30, or 0.4%, to $1,617.50 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold had added to losses immediately after the Fed’s decision, then stabilized and started to pare its decline shortly afterward. Read more on U.S. central bank’s policy statement and ‘Operation Twist.’ Most of the expectations around the Fed’s decision had been already priced in, said Rohit Savant, analyst with CPM Group in New York. “A lot of it has been reflected in the market,� he said. Operation Twist gets its name from the Fed trying to effectively twist the yield curve, by selling short-term securities that it holds while buying longer-term securities. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to hold a press conference later Wednesday. Easing measures are a positive for gold, which thrives in part on fears of inflation and currency debasement. Gold spent most of Wednesday’s session modestly lower. The metal lost $3.80, or 0.2%, on Tuesday, weakening after spending most of the session wavering between small gains and losses. Meanwhile, silver tracked gold lower in Wednesday’s Comex session, with the July contract SIN2 -0.22% down 27 cents, or 1%, to $28.11 an ounce. Other metal futures also traded lower, including July copper HGN2 -1.21% , off 4 cents, or 1.1%, to $3.40 a pound. Platinum for July delivery PLN2 -0.55% declined $8.50, or 0.6%, to $1,472 an ounce. The September contract for sister metal palladium lost $8.10, or 1.3%, to $621.80 an ounce. Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch. Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong.

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