Gold prices eased Friday after four sessions of gains, yet still on track for its biggest weekly performance since October 2011 after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the central bank's highly accommodative monetary policy would be needed for the foreseeable future.
As of (10:02 GMT+3) gold for immediate delivery fell 0.39 percent or 4.98 points to trade at $ 1,276.45 after opening at $1,266.69, having earlier hit a high of $1,298.64, and a low of $1,264.18.
Minutes from the Fed’s June policy meeting Wednesday showed many policymakers felt the stimulus program should be scaled back this year, but many wanted reassurance the U.S. jobs recovery was on solid ground.
Meanwhile, Bernanke said the bank will likely keep at least some of its easy-money policies amid high unemployment rates and low inflation levels. Bernanke reiterated that the Fed won't consider raising short-term rates until the unemployment rate reaches 6.5%.
The dollar dropped by the most since October 2011 after Fed’s Bernanke said the U.S. economy still requires monetary stimulus to bolster growth and lower unemployment, while policy makers wanted more signs the labor market is improving before slowing bond purchases.
The USDIX is currently trading around 83.05 after opening at 82.92, after hitting a high of 83.07and a low of 82.87.
In the same vein, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept monetary policy steady at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Thursday, but raised its assessment of the economy. Policy makers voted unanimously to maintain its pledge of increasing base money, or cash and deposits at the central bank, at an annual pace of 60 trillion to 70 trillion yen.
Other precious metals were as follows:
- Silver dropped 0.91% to trade around $ 19.80
- Platinum lost 0.13% to $ 1,401.05
- Palladium inched 21% down to $ 717.50
China's finance minister, Lou Jiwei, scaled down growth expectations by predicting only a 7 percent rise this year, fueling worries about growth in the world’s second largest gold consumer after India.
Speaking in Washington, Jiwei said he expects growth to come in at 7 percent this year after a slew of recent disappointing trade and manufacturing figures, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday, which would be below the government's official forecast.
The statistics bureau reports on second-quarter gross domestic product are due on July 15, with the median estimate of analysts for a 7.5 percent increase from last year
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