Gold benefits from dollar easing after Fed meeting

12.17.21 - Gold Benefits from Dollar Easing

Gold last traded at $1,797 an ounce. Silver at $22.42 an ounce.

NEWS SUMMARY: Precious metal prices extended gains Friday on safe-haven buying despite a firmer dollar. U.S. stocks extended losses as investors sold tech and bank stocks amid worries over tighter monetary policy and the ongoing pandemic.

CNBC--"Gold was boosted on Thursday by a fall in the U.S. dollar, after the Federal Reserve decided to end its pandemic-era bond purchases early next year....

The Fed on Wednesday paved the way for three interest rate hikes by the end of 2022 as the economy nears full employment and the U.S. central bank copes with a surge of inflation.

That weighed on the dollar, which is down around 0.2% against its rivals, making gold cheaper for holders of other currencies.

'The main factor today is the performance of the U.S. dollar,' said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.

With the Fed meeting out of the way, the real impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant on economic activity is the big question mark for gold, Evangelista added."