Daily Gold Update

Source: Marketwatch

New York— Gold futures climbed about 1% on Wednesday on expectations the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates near zero and do little in the way of removing some of the massive amounts of money it injected into the economy in the last year. The Fed's decision on rates and its accompanying statement will be released at 2.15 p.m. Eastern time. "Continuing record low interest rates are the primary reason that gold has yet to reach the bubble phase," analysts at GoldCore said in a note. "In the 1970s, interest rates had to be increased to well into the double digits prior to the gold bubble bursting."

Gold for February delivery, the most active contract, was recently up $10, or 0.9%, $1,333.0 an ounce. The January contract was up $9.90, or 0.9%, at $1132.40 an ounce. Gold held onto gains after the U.S. government reported its consumer price index rose 0.4% in November, matching economists' expectations. Core prices, excluding food and energy, were flat, while economists expected a slight increase. See full story.