News Bites
Gold price holds strong gains above 2% after nonevent Federal Reserve meeting
(Kitco News) - Gold prices continue to hold near its highest level in six weeks as the Federal Reserve reveals little new information on monetary policy.
In line with expectations the Federal Reserve left interest rates at its zero-bound range. The Fed also noted that economic activity continues to improve but remains well below levels seen at the start of the year.
The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy statement was virtually unchanged from its September meeting.
“The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus. The ongoing public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term,” the central bank said in its monetary policy statement, reiterating its stance from previous meetings.
Gold prices are not seeing much reaction to the central bank’s comments, which were widely in line with expectations. December gold futures last traded at $1,947.20 an ounce, up 2.70% on the day.
Heading into the meeting, economists at analysts have said that they weren’t expecting much as the meeting comes in the midst of the U.S. General Election. Although Democratic nominee Joe Biden currently leads in Electoral College votes, a number of states are still counting votes.
