Bright day for bullions

Gold rises for second session in a row

Bullion prices rallied on Monday, 16 December 2013 at Comex. Gold futures settled higher on Monday for a second session in a row, with traders mulling the fate of the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program ahead of the central bank's meeting this week. Silver rallied 3%.

Gold for February delivery rose $9.80, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,244.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices, which had been seesawing between minor losses and gains earlier.

March silver jumped 50 cents, or 2.5%, to end at $20.10 an ounce.

U.S. economic data released Monday showed that an index of manufacturing conditions in the New York area recovered slightly in December. Productivity in the third quarter was revised up to 3% from an initial read of 1.9%, and industrial production in November saw the biggest one-month percentage gain in a year, to reach a record high level. Markit reported that the flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index inched lower to a 54.4 reading in December, but still signaled solid business conditions.

Heightened concerns that the Fed will announce a tapering of its quantitative easing program next week took gold off three-week highs, leaving prices close to where they started the week.

The biggest event for financial and commodity markets next week is the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, and until the Federal Reserve makes an announcement on monetary policy, gold traders will likely spend the early part of the week preparing for the outcome.

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