Gold, Silver Rise Ahead of Fed Policy Meeting

Prices for gold and silver rose Monday, ahead of this week’s two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting.

Gold for February delivery was up $9.80, or 1 percent, to $1,244.40 an ounce, and silver rose 50 cents, or 3 percent, to $20.10 an ounce.

The Federal Reserve will hold its last policy meeting of 2013 this week. The Fed will likely keep its economic stimulus measures in place at least through March, according to a recent survey of economists. That could affect the dollar and commodities – such as gold and silver – that are priced in dollars.

Analysts at Barclays said the long-term trend for gold, however, is lower. With the U.S. economy continuing to improve and Congress on track to pass a two-year budget, any economic uncertainty that gold typically thrives on is dissipating. Gold is down 26 percent this year.

Other metals were mostly higher. High-grade copper for March delivery rose 2 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $3.33 a pound. March palladium edged up 15 cents to $716.35 an ounce, while platinum fell $2.80, or 0.2 percent, to $1,360.10 an ounce.

In agricultural commodities, wheat for March delivery was down 7 cents, or 1 percent, to $6.218 a bushel, and March corn was down 2.3 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $4.233 a bushel. January soybeans rose 10.3 cents, or 1 percent, to $13.38 a bushel.