|
CHICAGO, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Thursday after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement held after the market's close on Wednesday.
The most active gold contract for December delivery rose 13.3 U.S. dollars, or 1.00 percent, to settle at 1,344 .7 dollars per ounce.
The results of the September FOMC are in and the U.S. central bank has signaled one increase in its key interest rate by the end of the year. As of the close on Thursday, investors believe the Fed may raise rates from 0.50 to 0.75 during the December FOMC meeting. According to the CME Group' s Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to 0.75 is at 12 percent for the November 2016 meeting, and 54 percent at the December meeting.
Analysts note that the vote on Wednesday was 7-3, with three members in favor of keeping rates the same. The three hawkish members that voted to maintain rates said that they are not in favor of a rate hike this year, but the results of this meeting were mainly in-line with investor expectations.
Although the weekly jobless claims report released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor was likely overlooked by most investors, it may put some longer-term pressure on the precious metal as initial jobless claims fell by a better-than-expected 8,000 to 252,000 claims during the week of September 17th. Analysts note that this report is likely to raise expectations for the monthly jobs report, which is positive news for the Fed' s doves.
Weakness in the U.S. dollar also gave support to the precious metal as the U.S. Dollar Index fell by 0.22 percent to 95.29 as of 1730 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 prevented from rising further as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average also rose by 120 points, or 0.66 percent as of 1730 GMT. Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.
Silver for December delivery rose 33.1 cents, or 1.67 percent, to close at 20.099 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery added 14.9 dollars, or 1.42 percent, to close at 1,062.8 dollars per ounce. Enditem
