A Bloomberg report observed that gold and several other metals saw gains amid the anticipation of investors about the US Federal Reserve's decision regarding its schedule to taper the current $85 monthly bond purchases program. The report said federal authorities are expected to begin its two-day meeting to decide upon the matter today.
Gold for immediate delivery saw a 0.5% maximum gain to $1,248.06 an ounce, and in Singapore even jumped to $1,245.64 per ounce by 2:31PM local time. Bullion for February delivery saw little change at $1,244.60 per ounce on the commodities exchange, Bloomberg said in its report.
The report said gold has decreased 26% in total in 2013, which marked its first yearly loss since the year 2000, said Bloomberg in its report. Fed officials had hinted at an earlier meeting on October 29 and 30 that they might reduce their monthly bond purchases in the next few months as the US economy has shown signs of improvement. The US central bank disclosed in its Beige Book survey that was released December 4 that gains were seen in technology, manufacturing and housing, which caused the US economy to have a modest to moderate growth starting early October through the middle of November.
Fat Prophets resource analyst David Lennox said, "(The market is) not expecting any change which is why we've seen it pull back from its lows."
34% of economists who participated in a Bloomberg survey conducted on December 6 said The Fed might reduce its bond purchase at the coming meeting, which was a 17% increase in a November 8 poll down by the same news agency. Bloomberg noted that gold saw a 70% increase from December 2008 to June 2011 as the Fed injected over $2 trillion in the financial system.
Silver for immediate delivery increased up to 1.3% to $20.2453 an ounce prior to trading at $20.1551 per ounce. Platinum also experienced a 0.2% increase to $1,365.25 an ounce. Palladium saw a 0.4% gain to $718.50 an ounce after experiencing losses in the past four days.
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