By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Gold futures moved modestly higher Monday during Asia trading hours, ahead of a possible bond-buying announcement from the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the week.
Gold futures for December delivery GCZ2 +0.09% rose $1.20 to trade at $1,733.10 an ounce in electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold futures ended lower on Monday but had recorded big gains last week after weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data heightened expectations that the Fed will announce another round of monetary easing at the end of its two-day policy meeting Thursday.
Gold has a traditional role as a store of value and thrives on fears of currency debasement and inflation.
“We believe the [Fed] will extend its forward guidance on the level of the fed funds rate and announce a new large-scale asset purchase program at its Sept. 13 meeting,” said Michael Carey, chief economist for North America for Credit Agricole.
Most other metals traded lower Tuesday.
Copper for December delivery HGZ2 -0.01% slipped 3 cents to $3.66 per pound, while December silver SIZ2 -0.01% lost 8 cents to reach $33.55 an ounce.
Platinum for October delivery PLV2 -0.10% declined $6.80 to $1,597.00 an ounce, while the December contract for sister metal palladium PAZ2 -0.50% traded down $1.90 to $670.85 an ounce.
Sarah Turner is MarketWatch's bureau chief in Sydney.
