MW: Gold retreats after hitting record, ahead of Fed
By Nick Godt, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Gold futures retreated early on Tuesday, a day after closing at a fresh record high, with investors treading cautiously ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement later in the session.
The precious metal has benefited from expectations the central bank will resume its asset purchases, pressuring the dollar and boosting gold’s appeal as an alternative to currencies.
Gold for December delivery (GCZ10 1,276, -4.80, -0.38%) fell $3.30, or 0.3%, to $1,277.50 an ounce. On Monday, gold closed at a record high as investment demand for the precious metal showed no signs of abating.
Gold pared losses after a report showed U.S. housing starts jumped to 598,000 pace in August, more than economists expected. Read more on housing starts.
“More long term market participants are nervous about the faltering economic recovery and the likely need for a new round of monetary and quantitative easing,” analysts at GoldCore said in a note.
