BLBG:Gold Snaps Four-Day Decline Before Fed Meeting as Silver Gains
Gold climbed, snapping the longest losing streak since October, before the U.S. Federal Reserve begins a two-day policy meeting today that will probably press on with stimulus to bolster the world’s largest recovery.
Spot gold advanced as much as 0.3 percent to $1,660 an ounce and was at $1,659.85 at 10:29 a.m. in Singapore, ending four days of losses. Gold for April delivery, the contract with the biggest open interest, gained as much as 0.4 percent to $1,660.90 on the Comex in New York, and traded at $1,660.80.
Gold rose 7.1 percent in 2012, rallying for a 12th year on global stimulus measures. The metal more than doubled from December 2008 through December 2012 as the Fed expanded asset purchases in three rounds of so-called quantitative easing. No change is expected from the Fed this week on its $85 billion per month of asset purchases, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
“The outlook for monetary policy, especially in the U.S., will be key for gold prices,” said Sun Yonggang, a macroeconomic strategist at Everbright Futures Co., a unit of one of China’s largest state-owned investment companies. “Until economic data around the world improves consistently, there will be willing buyers of gold at lower levels.”
Gold fell to the lowest level in more than four months on Jan. 4, a day after Fed minutes showed that policy makers may end the monthly bond purchases this year. Bullion touched an almost three-week low yesterday after U.S. durable-goods orders rose in December for an unprecedented fourth consecutive month
Bullion held in exchange-traded products shrank for a third straight day, the longest period of decline since October. Assets stood at a two-month low of 2,610.272 metric tons yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Cash silver gained 0.4 percent to $31.0025 an ounce, after tumbling 4.3 percent in the past three days. Spot platinum rose 0.6 percent to $1,673.25 an ounce, trading above gold for a sixth day, the longest such run since March. Palladium climbed 0.2 percent to $740.25 an ounce, after reaching $749 yesterday, the highest price since September 2011.
To contact the reporter on this story: Glenys Sim in Singapore at gsim4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net
