Gold futures were seen flat on Wednesday, as investors wait for the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) minutes from its October meeting to be released and market participants hope the central bank would hint when it would begin to taper its monetary stimulus.
Yellow metal futures rose 0.01% higher to $1,273.60 an ounce at the time of writing, while silver futures inched up 0.59% to $20.455 an ounce.
The US dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of six of its major peers, declined 0.08% lower, standing at 80.636 points.
Holding in the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust came in at 863.01 tones on Tuesday, dropping to its lowest level since February 2009.
Gold Futures – Fed Minutes
The Federal Reserve’s (Fed) is expected to release minutes from its October meeting. Analysts are hoping to get hints from the statement as to when the central bank will begin to taper its monthly bond-buying program. The Federal Open Market Committee’s final meeting for the year is scheduled for December 17-18.
Some analysts are predicting that the bank would begin to scale back on its asset-purchasing program at the December meeting, after the world’s largest economy showed signs of improvement. However, the majority of analysts are forecasting the Fed to begin tapering at its March meeting.
Ben Bernanke Speech
On Wednesday, the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke commented on strengthening the unemployment rate as it continues to rise and inflation picking up at approximately 2% before the US central bank would begin to taper its asset-purchasing program.
“When, ultimately, asset purchases do slow, it will likely be because the economy has progressed sufficiently for the Committee to rely more heavily on its rate policies, the associated forward guidance, and its substantial continued holdings of securities to maintain progress toward maximum employment and to achieve price stability,” he said.
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