Off the wire
• 74 pct of EU citizens view competition as positive: survey  • AU has not released inquiry report on South Sudan: chairperson  • LME base metals steady on Monday  • Zionist Union's Livni waives power-sharing deal ahead of elections  • Roundup: U.S. embroiled in recurring debt limit drama  • Urgent: U.S. dollar retreats ahead of Fed meeting  • Austrian economy to remain weak in 2015, improvement in 2016: economic institutes  • Merkel promises more support to Ukraine during Poroshenko visit  • Egyptian court sentences MB chief, 13 others to death  • U.S. Ebola patient back from W. Africa in "critical condition": NIH  
You are here: 　 Home

1st LD Writethru: Gold up slightly ahead of Fed meeting

Xinhua, March 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose slightly on Monday ahead of the meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

The most active gold contract for April delivery rose slightly 0.8 U.S. dollars, or 0.07 percent, to settle at 1,153.20 dollars per ounce.

Gold rose slightly ahead of the Tuesday meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, representing the interests of the U.S. central bank. Analysts say the Fed may be considering raising interest rates as soon as June, which would signal a stronger U.S. economy, putting pressure on gold, and also lessening demand for gold as it does not pay any interest.

A fall in the dollar also gave the precious metal some upward momentum as the Dollar Index fell by 0.64 percent to 99.53 at 6:14 p.m. GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.

Gold was also given a boost after a report released on Monday by the U.S. Federal Reserve showed that industrial production in February increased by 0.1 percent, worse than expected, after declining 0.3 percent in January.

Silver for May delivery rose 12.3 cents, or 0.79 percent, to close at 15.617 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery fell 7.3 dollars, or 0.65 percent, to close at 1,107.90 dollars per ounce. Endite