Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Gold futures fluctuated, following movements in the dollar, before a decision by the Federal Reserve on easing U.S. monetary policy further. Before today, gold gained 8.7 percent since Sept. 1, while the dollar dropped 7 percent against a basket of major currencies on bets that policy makers will announce another round of so-called quantitative easing to bolster the economy. The metal reached a record $1,388.10 an ounce on Oct. 14. “The gold market is likely to see another day of sideway activity as it awaits the results of the FOMC meeting,” said Tom Pawlicki, an analyst at MF Global Holdings Inc. in Chicago. A “smaller-than-anticipated” round of easing may drive the metal lower, he said. Gold futures for December delivery dropped $2.60, or 0.2 percent, to $1,354.30 at 9:27 a.m. on the Comex in New York. Earlier, the price climbed as much as 0.6 percent. The Fed has kept its benchmark interest rate at zero percent to 0.25 percent since December 2008 and purchased $1.7 trillion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed assets to spur growth. Estimates for the size of the Fed’s next round of asset purchases range from $1 trillion at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch to $2 trillion at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Economists at both firms agree the Fed may start by announcing a $500 billion plan. An announcement is expected at 2:15 p.m. in Washington. Silver futures for December delivery dropped 7.1 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $24.765 an ounce. Platinum futures for January delivery fell $8, or 0.5 percent, to $1,711.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Palladium futures for December delivery declined $5.30, or 0.8 percent, to $640.15 an ounce. --Editors: Patrick McKiernan, Millie Munshi To contact the reporter on this story: Pham-Duy Nguyen in Seattle at pnguyen@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.

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