Gold futures in New York quietly rose early on Wednesday, extending Tuesday's climb, as the market awaited Thursday's decision by the Federal Reserve on how much higher to raise US interest rates.
By 10:06 am EDT, Gold for August delivery at the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $1.30 at $585.70 an ounce, trading between $581.30 and $589.40. Prices steadied after an attempt on Tuesday to break toward the $600 level ended in a muted flash of liquidation without much follow-through selling, traders said.
Gold still was seen pinned between support at $550 an ounce and the psychological $600 level, according to analysts. Spot gold firmed to $583.20/583.90, versus Tuesday's New York close at $581.50/2.50. Bullion dealers in London fixed the morning spot reference rate at $584 on Wednesday.
"Resistance at $600, which coincides with the 100-day moving average, is likely to provide some stiff resistance in the interim as the market continues to hold in consolidation in a trading range of $550 to $600," Standard Bank said in a note.
Some analysts said this week gold fever rages on despite the metal's 24 percent jump in a month to 26-year highs in May, followed by an even faster retreat. COMEX gold found its footing around $550 an ounce two weeks ago, after tumbling from 26-year highs near $740 an ounce in May.
July silver gained 3.5 cents to $10.23 an ounce. Next active September was up 1.1 cent at $10.31. Spot silver was barely changed at $10.25/35, against $10.23/10.33 late on Tuesday.
NYMEX July platinum fell $6.30 to hold at $1,182, nearly erasing Tuesday's rise. October slid $4 to $1,200. Spot platinum was off at $1,186/92. September palladium lost $1.20 to trade at $313 an ounce. Spot was worth $309/314.