Gold futures held onto their gains in electronic trading late Wednesday after settling at a more than three-week high. Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s December meeting revealed that officials from the central bank saw the possibility that they might have to raise interest rates faster than the “gradual” pace that they have stressed for some time. Higher interest rates can be a negative for gold, which tends to benefit from looser monetary policy, but the U.S. dollar extended its decline after the minutes, offering dollar-denominated gold some support. February gold was at $1,165.90 an ounce in electronic trading. It had settled at $1,165.30 an ounce, up $3.30, or 0.3%, for the session.
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