Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

San Francisco— Gold futures dropped Wednesday as the combination of a rising dollar and expectations of muted quantitative easing proved poisonous to the metal. Gold for December delivery retreated $16, or 1.2%, to $1,322.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. That�s gold�s lowest settlement since Oct 4. Most metals tracked gold, with palladium coming off a 10-year high.

Gold and other commodities were hit by a stronger dollar and expectations that the U.S Federal Reserve�s much-anticipated quantitative easing won�t be as broad as some analysts had speculated. A report in Wednesday�s Wall Street Journal said the Fed�s purchase of Treasury bonds will likely be limited to a few hundred billion dollars over several months, in contrast with the trillions some analysts had expected. The report sent the dollar higher, with the U.S. unit strengthening throughout the session. �The strength in the dollar is causing people to sell first and ask questions later,� said Adam Klopfenstein, senior marketing strategist at Lind Waldock in Chicago. See full story.