Mixed finish for precious metals

Gold shines but silver turns pale

It was mixed finish for bullions on Monday, 14 September 2015 at Comex. Gold futures settled higher Monday to recoup some of what they lost in the previous session, as investors set their sights on the crucial Federal Reserve decision on interest rates due out later this week.

Gold for December delivery added $4.40, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,107.70 an ounce on Comex, after capping its third straight weekly loss on Friday. Prices lost 0.5% in the previous session.

December silver fell 14.2 cents, or 1%, to $14.363 an ounce.

The focus of the world marketplace this week is the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, in which members will discuss monetary policy. A statement and press conference from Fed Chair Janet Yellen are set for Thursday afternoon. There is no consensus among traders and investors on whether the Fed will make an interest rate hike for the first time in several years at this week's meeting, or wait until December, or later. The U.S. Fed funds futures market presently suggests the Fed will not make a rate hike in September.

Asian stock markets were weaker on Monday, as there was more mostly downbeat economic data coming out of China. China's industrial output in August was up 6.1%, year-on-year, which was better than July's 6.0% growth, but lower than the consensus forecast of up 6.6% for August. Fixed asset investment in China during January-August was also lower than expected. However, China's retail sales in August were higher than expected. China's Shanghai stock index was down 2.7% Monday and Japan's Nikkei stock index was down 1.6% on the day.

In other news Monday, industrial production in the Euro zone rose 0.6% in July from June and was up 1.9% on the year, which was better than expected. There was no major U.S. economic data released on Monday.

Investors appear divided on the likelihood of a rate increasethe first since 2006but gold is finding some support from traders who view the probability of the Fed ending its ultraloose monetary policy this month as low. Low rates are beneficial to gold, which doesn't bear interest. Looser monetary policy for longer may keep the value of the dollar in check, offering dollar-denominated gold buyers reason to be bullish because a weaker buck makes the metal less expensive to buyers in other currencies.

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