US gold futures ended lower on Tuesday as bullion investors took profits amid uncertainty over what the Federal Reserve will do to boost economic growth. COMEX December gold futures settled down $7.70 at $1,346.70 an ounce on the COMEX division of the NYMEX.
Ranged from $1,341.40 to $1,356.30 per lb. Signs from top Fed officials that there might not be massive additional quantitative easing triggered profit taking in gold, said Donald Selkin at National Securities Corp. Kansas City Federal Reserve President Thomas Hoenig said he was against further easing as it would do little to aid the recovery and could spark inflation. Gold was little changed after the Fed revealed minutes of its last policy-setting session in September, in which officials believed the struggling recovery might soon need more help.
Estimated gold volume at 138,568 lots, largely in line with its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed. Spot gold was trading down 0.3 percent at $1,349.30 an ounce at 3 pm EDT (1900 GMT). COMEX December silver ended down 20.20 cents at $23.147 an ounce, weighed down by gold's weakness and the dollar's initial strength. Ranged from $22.945 to $23.495 an ounce.
Estimated silver volume a busy 51,118 lots, about 27 percent above its 30-day average, according to preliminary Reuters data. Spot silver slipped less than 0.1 percent to $23.30 an ounce. NYMEX January platinum finished $7.50 lower at $1,683.30 an ounce on broad-based metal weakness, said traders. Spot platinum eased 0.3 percent to $1,678 an ounce. NYMEX December palladium closed down $8.10, or 1.4 percent, at $580.65 an ounce, tracking platinum. Spot palladium fell 1.2 percent to $578.50.
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