Gold Trades Little Changed Before Fed Meets to Review Stimulus

Bloomberg (17/12) -- Gold traded little changed before the Federal Reserve starts a two-day meeting today as investors await the central bank’s decision on the timeline for reducing stimulus in the U.S.

Bullion for immediate delivery was at $1,242.22 an ounce at 8:35 a.m. in Singapore from $1,241.30 yesterday, when prices climbed for a second day. Gold for February delivery declined 0.3 percent to $1,241 on the Comex, snapping a two-day rally. Gold tumbled 26 percent this year, heading for the first annual loss since 2000, amid speculation the Fed will curb its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases. Officials said at their Oct. 29-30 meeting that they may reduce the purchases “in coming months” as the economy improves. Gains in manufacturing, technology and housing fueled “modest to moderate” economic growth from early October through mid-November, the central bank said in its Beige Book survey released Dec. 4. The Fed may begin reducing the asset purchases at this week’s meeting, according to 34 percent of economists in a Dec. 6 Bloomberg survey, up from 17 percent in a Nov. 8 poll. Gold rose 70 percent from December 2008 to June 2011 as the Fed pumped more than $2 trillion into the financial system. Silver for immediate delivery was little changed at $20.0172 an ounce after climbing to $20.302 yesterday, the highest since Dec. 12. Platinum rose 0.2 percent to $1,364.60 an ounce, while palladium advanced 0.2 percent to $717.16 an ounce, snapping four days of losses.