Spot gold extends gains after Fed minutes; Futures settle up
CNBC - May 20, 2015
Gold rose on Wednesday, briefly climbing to a new session high as the dollar pared its gains after U.S. Federal Reserve minutes showed policy makers believed it would be premature to raise interest rates in June.
Many officials at the Fed's April policy meeting believed that a bump in inflation was being offset by a weaker labor market and softer data, according to minutes from the meeting released on Wednesday.
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,211.06 an ounce, after climbing 0.5 percent to a session high at $1,213.36 after the Fed minutes were released.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled up $2 at $1,208.70 an ounce.
"A close reading of the April minutes shows the committee remains extraordinarily cautious regarding a rate liftoff given members' emphasis on the first-quarter slowdown," said Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York.
"The bar remains quite high for an interest rate move and it appears quite unlikely that it will happen before September if even then."
