Gold held near New York levels on Thursday after a decision by the US Federal Reserve to hold interest rates steady, but weakness in Tokyo futures could spur some selling. Spot gold was at $679.40/679.90 an ounce, hardly changed from $679.50/680.00 late in New York on Wednesday, when it dropped to its lowest in nearly a week at $675.50 on fund selling.
The benchmark gold contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, currently April 2008, fell 18 yen per gram to 2,652 yen. The dollar inched higher against the yen on Thursday, extending gains made after the Federal Reserve held benchmark US interest rates steady and said its main worry is that inflation will fail to moderate.
In a widely expected decision, the Fed kept the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged at 5.25 percent on Wednesday and said in a statement that core inflation remained somewhat elevated. The dollar rose slightly to 120.18 yen edging closer to a peak of 120.47 yen hit last week that was the highest since February 27.
The euro stood at $1.3530 little changed from $1.3528 in late New York. Platinum dropped to $1,322/1,327 an ounce from $1,324/1,329 late in New York. Palladium fell to 365/370 an ounce from $368/372 an ounce. Silver was at $13.35/13.38 an ounce, unchanged from late New York levels.