Gold ends with a gain as traders mull Fed comments

SAN FRANCISCO, MarketWatch (10/12) — Gold futures settled a bit higher on Monday, rebounding after losses over the past two trading sessions, as traders mulled the timing of a pullback in the Federal Reserve’s bond-buying program following the latest comments from central bank officials.

Gold for February delivery tacked on $5.20, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,234.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. March silver closed up 18 cents, or 0.9%, at $19.70 an ounce. In a speech Monday, Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, said the Fed will discuss pulling back its asset purchase program at its meeting next week. Separately, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the best move may be a small December taper. Gold prices briefly added to gains after news of the Fed comments, then pared gains again before Comex prices settled for Monday’s regular trading session. The central bank’s bond-buying program, also known as quantitative easing, has helped support gold prices. The program contributed to a weaker dollar, which in turn buoyed prices for dollar-denominated gold. But “gold’s price gains over the last two sessions, in the face of news indicating that a QE taper may come sooner rather than later, may mean that the metal has finally priced in such an event,” said Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter. “In short, we may have run out of sellers.” “And with the bearish side of the boat so overcrowded, the gold market appears primed for a significant short-covering rebound,” he said. News that Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, backed tapering the central bank’s QE program “at the earliest opportunity,” emerged after the close of gold trading on Comex. Prices for February gold in electronic trading climbed above the settlement price shortly after — to $1,236.30 an ounce. Bullard also indicated that the Fed could pause tapering if inflation falls — “indicating they haven’t forgotten their dual mandate,” said Colin Cieszynski, senior market analyst at CMC Markets. “They won’t taper at any cost and won’t let deflation take hold.” Fisher’s comments, along with Lacker’s and Bullard’s, are the last official comments from the central bank until after its Dec. 17-18 policy committee meeting.