Investing.com - Gold prices edged higher on Friday in quiet, listless trading amid lingering uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve will announce a decision to taper stimulus measures such as the central bank's monthly USD85 billion in asset purchases, which gave the metal some support.
Monetary stimulus measures tend to weaken the dollar to spur recovery, which makes gold an attractive hedge.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,311.10 during U.S. afternoon hours, up 0.09%.
Gold prices hit a session low of USD1,304.50 a troy ounce and high of USD1,316.10 a troy ounce.
The December contract settled up 1.91% at USD1,309.90 a troy ounce on Thursday.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,272.10 a troy ounce, Thursday's low, and resistance at USD1,319.85, Monday's high.
Several Federal Reserve officials have said in recent days that they could not rule out making a decision to taper stimulus measures at the bank’s September meeting, though lackluster economic indicators out of the U.S. have some market participants betting that such a decision will come in December, which has pushed and pulled at prices in recent days.
Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto said Wednesday there has been “meaningful improvement” in the labor market and that tapering may be warranted if it continues to strengthen.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher have made similar comments, though until such an announcement becomes public, investors will assume that stimulus programs will remain in place and support gold.
Fed officials have said they will pay close attention to data before deciding on when to taper and eventually end stimulus programs, which weaken the dollar to spur recovery, making gold an attractive hedge.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery was up 1.02% at USD20.398 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery was up 1.14% and trading at USD3.308 a pound.
Monetary stimulus measures tend to weaken the dollar to spur recovery, which makes gold an attractive hedge.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,311.10 during U.S. afternoon hours, up 0.09%.
Gold prices hit a session low of USD1,304.50 a troy ounce and high of USD1,316.10 a troy ounce.
The December contract settled up 1.91% at USD1,309.90 a troy ounce on Thursday.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,272.10 a troy ounce, Thursday's low, and resistance at USD1,319.85, Monday's high.
Several Federal Reserve officials have said in recent days that they could not rule out making a decision to taper stimulus measures at the bank’s September meeting, though lackluster economic indicators out of the U.S. have some market participants betting that such a decision will come in December, which has pushed and pulled at prices in recent days.
Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto said Wednesday there has been “meaningful improvement” in the labor market and that tapering may be warranted if it continues to strengthen.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher have made similar comments, though until such an announcement becomes public, investors will assume that stimulus programs will remain in place and support gold.
Fed officials have said they will pay close attention to data before deciding on when to taper and eventually end stimulus programs, which weaken the dollar to spur recovery, making gold an attractive hedge.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery was up 1.02% at USD20.398 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery was up 1.14% and trading at USD3.308 a pound.