Gold drops sharply after Fed stands pat

[WallyWeaver]

Gold drops sharply after Fed stands pat

By Claudia Assis | MarketWatch – 3 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures added to losses Wednesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates and the accompanying statement shattered hopes of monetary stimulus.

Gold for June delivery (GCM2) retreated $7.10, or 0.4%, to $1,637.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The metal dropped as low as $1,625 an ounce after the Fed decision.

“The statement clearly took QE3 off the table for an extended period,” said Bill O’Neill, a principal with Logic Advisors in New Jersey. “That was the major component in the selloff,” which also pushed oil and other commodities lower, he added.

Unlike oil, however, gold had been mostly “sloppy” in recent sessions, lacking support from speculative money, O’Neill said. The Fed did mention inflation, which would be a positive for gold, but also said any bouts of inflation would be temporary.

Gold has been rangebound for the better part of two weeks, unable to rise much above $1,650 an ounce and finding support at $1,600 an ounce.

Tuesday’s weak housing data had spurred some hopes the Fed may be getting closer to announcing another round of quantitative easing, and gold rose 0.7% on the day.

Gold is seen as a store of wealth and a safe haven; it does well amid inflation and currency concerns and any hints of quantitative easing would have pushed prices higher.

Other precious and base metals futures were mixed.

May copper futures (HGK2) added 3 cents, or 0.9%, to $3.71 per pound, keeping steady after the Fed.

Platinum for July delivery (PLN2) also advanced, up $4.90, or 0.3%, to $1,553 an ounce.

Silver tracked gold lower, however, giving back some of its recent gains. May silver futures (SIK2) declined 39 cents, or 1.3%, to $30.36 an ounce. The metal on Tuesday gained 0.7%.

U.S. stocks opened higher on the heels of better-than-expected earnings for heavyweight stock Apple Inc. (AAPL). Read more about U.S. stock trading.

Link: http://finance.yahoo...-171803662.html</H1>

[20MillionDinar]

Gold drops sharply after Fed stands pat

By Claudia Assis | MarketWatch – 3 hours ago

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures added to losses Wednesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates and the accompanying statement shattered hopes of monetary stimulus.

Gold for June delivery (GCM2) retreated $7.10, or 0.4%, to $1,637.80 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The metal dropped as low as $1,625 an ounce after the Fed decision.

“The statement clearly took QE3 off the table for an extended period,” said Bill O’Neill, a principal with Logic Advisors in New Jersey. “That was the major component in the selloff,” which also pushed oil and other commodities lower, he added.

Unlike oil, however, gold had been mostly “sloppy” in recent sessions, lacking support from speculative money, O’Neill said. The Fed did mention inflation, which would be a positive for gold, but also said any bouts of inflation would be temporary.

Gold has been rangebound for the better part of two weeks, unable to rise much above $1,650 an ounce and finding support at $1,600 an ounce.

Tuesday’s weak housing data had spurred some hopes the Fed may be getting closer to announcing another round of quantitative easing, and gold rose 0.7% on the day.

Gold is seen as a store of wealth and a safe haven; it does well amid inflation and currency concerns and any hints of quantitative easing would have pushed prices higher.

Other precious and base metals futures were mixed.

May copper futures (HGK2) added 3 cents, or 0.9%, to $3.71 per pound, keeping steady after the Fed.

Platinum for July delivery (PLN2) also advanced, up $4.90, or 0.3%, to $1,553 an ounce.

Silver tracked gold lower, however, giving back some of its recent gains. May silver futures (SIK2) declined 39 cents, or 1.3%, to $30.36 an ounce. The metal on Tuesday gained 0.7%.

U.S. stocks opened higher on the heels of better-than-expected earnings for heavyweight stock Apple Inc. (AAPL). Read more about U.S. stock trading.

Link: http://finance.yahoo...-171803662.html</H1>

The interesting part is that it went right back up to where it was at before the meeting. Almost had a neutral affect... I was hoping the EUR and the AUD would drop with the announcement, but they didn't...

Did you notice what happened to Apple shares yesterday after hours when they announced earnings? Pretty crazy! Do you own any Apple shares WW?

Edited April 25, 2012 by 20MillionDinar

[WallyWeaver]

The interesting part is that it went right back up to where it was at before the meeting. Almost had a neutral affect... I was hoping the EUR and the AUD would drop with the announcement, but they didn't...

Did you notice what happened to Apple shares yesterday after hours when they announced earnings? Pretty crazy! Do you own any Apple shares WW?

As far as gold prices go I think there are 3 things at play here:

1. Central Banks have been buying gold like crazy for the past few months. Because they are so heavily invested they don't want to see gold dip below $1600. If it does it will be brief because they don't want to lose money.

2. Physical buyers helped bring the price up. I can speak from experience on this one: when prices dipped on Monday I bought! I think many around the world have been joining me.

3. China has agreed to pay Iran in gold for oil purchases. This could be huge! Because the US has banned Iran from using the SWIFT system for payments China has found another way to pay for oil: gold. China already pays Iran with agriculture but adding gold could really send prices for the yellow metal soaring. All I can say is things are really starting to get interesting!

As far as AAPL.... I don't own any shares.

It's one of those things where I could just kick myself, too. Ah well, it's companies like Apple that keep people invested in Wall Street.... Everyone's looking for the next Apple, or Google, or Microsoft.

The only tech. stock I own is Intel Corp. (INTC) and it is actually my second largest position (behind AGQ). What's great is while I'm waiting for it to pop they are paying a decent dividend.... so it's a win-win.

Sorry about the Euro and the AUD...

WW.