Gold fell in choppy trade on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve issued a policy statement that dashed investor hopes for new monetary stimulus, even though it acknowledged that the US economy has lost momentum. Spot gold was down 0.9 percent at $1,599.09 an ounce by 4:53 pm EDT (2 053 GMT), after briefly falling toward $1,590 immediately after the Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement.
Bullion logged its third straight daily loss as investors unwound a premium built on hopes of further US monetary easing. US gold futures for December delivery settled down $7.30 an ounce at $1,607.30, with trading volume about 5 percent below its 30-day average, preliminary Reuters data showed. Silver fell 1.9 percent to $27.39 an ounce. It was up more than 4 percent in a four-day rally last week. Platinum dropped 1.2 percent to $1,393.75 an ounce and palladium was down 1 percent at $580.25 an ounce.