Daily Gold Update

Source:Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

AustinGold dipped 0.1% to close under $1,293 as traders prepared for the release of the minutes from the September meeting of the Federal Reserve. The metal then held that slight loss in electronic trade after the minutes confirmed the Fed's bias toward another rate hike.

At their latest meeting on monetary policy, most Fed members felt that another rate hike this year "was likely to be warranted," according to the minutes released today. Persistently low inflation was a hotly-debated topic, with several members urging "some patience" until it climbs closer to the Fed's 2% target. While not automatic, another quarter-point rise in December was clearly the consensus, with only with four members pushing it off until 2018.

Separately, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said today that a December hike is not a done deal. A policy dove, Evans said he wants "an honest discussion" about whether another rate increase is needed while inflation remains under target.

The minutes did little to move the markets, with a December hike largely a foregone conclusion among traders anyway. CME FedWatch, which forecasts the likelihood of rate hikes based on trading in Fed fund futures, held the odds at 86.7% today, down a hair from 87.8% yesterday.

Gold's slide was backstopped by the dollar's fourth day of losses. The buck slid another 0.2% against major rivals after Catalan's leader balked at declaring formal independence from Spain, boosting the euro.

The other precious metals were mostly lower, with silver and platinum edging down 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, while palladium gained 1.9%.

At the Comex close: December gold dipped $1.10 to $1,292.70; December silver slipped 3 cents to $17.18; January platinum edged down 50 cents to $935.80; and December palladium gained $16.95 to $951.45 an ounce.