BLBG:Gold Halts 3-Day Advance as Investors Await Fed Meeting
Gold declined for the first time in four days in London as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting.
Bullion rebounded to a one-week high yesterday after reaching a one-month low of $1,684.77 an ounce on Dec. 7. The Fed begins its last meeting for 2012 today. It will amplify record accommodation by announcing $45 billion in monthly Treasury buying that will push its balance sheet almost to $4 trillion, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
“Bullion prices certainly benefited from resurgent buying interest below $1,690 at the end of last week, as bargain hunters and physical buyers moved in on the lows,” Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, wrote today in a report. “We see limited downside for gold and expect the market to pause ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee statement.”
Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.2 percent to $1,709.56 an ounce by 11:11 a.m. in London. Gold for February delivery was 0.2 percent lower at $1,710.70 on the Comex in New York.
Gold at the morning “fixing,” used by some mining companies to sell output, declined to $1,709.75 in London from $1,712.50 yesterday afternoon.
Holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products reached a record 2,629.3 metric tons yesterday, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Prices are set for a 12th consecutive annual gain as central banks from the U.S. to China pledge more steps to spur economic growth.
U.S. leaders need to agree on a budget to prevent more than $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts coming into effect from January. President Barack Obama said yesterday he’s ready to make a deal with Republicans after meeting House Speaker John Boehner.
Silver for immediate delivery fell 0.5 percent to $33.0963 an ounce. Platinum was little changed at $1,624.59 an ounce. Palladium declined 0.3 percent to $699.50 an ounce, after reaching $705 yesterday, the highest since Sept. 14.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nicholas Larkin in London at nlarkin1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Deane at jdeane3@bloomberg.net
