Forexpros – Gold futures edged higher on Thursday, amid ongoing uncertainty over Greece’s planned referendum on its bailout deal and after the Federal Reserve cut its U.S. growth forecast and signaled it was prepared to do more to bolster growth.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,733.05 a troy ounce during European morning trade, easing up 0.2%.
It earlier rose by as much as 0.5% to trade at a daily high of USD1,741.35 a troy ounce.
In an emergency meeting prior to the G-20 summit, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou that Athens will surrender all European aid if it votes against the bailout package agreed upon last week.
Merkel added that Europe is prepared in the event that Greece decides to exit the euro, according to reports.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut its growth forecasts for the U.S. economy for next year and estimated unemployment will average between 8.5% to 8.7% in the final quarter of 2012.
Speaking at a post-policy meeting press conference, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said that economic growth was “frustratingly slow” and “very unsatisfactory.” He added that additional round of asset purchases, specifically mortgage-backed securities, was a “viable option.”
“We are prepared to do more and we have the tools to do more,” Bernanke said.
Elsewhere, the World Gold Council said that gold demand in top consumer India fell during the peak festival season over the past month compared to last year. The council did not specify gold sales volume for the period, but is likely to give the detailed statistics in November.
This year, the festival season began in the first week of October and culminated with Diwali, the festival of lights, on October 26. Traditionally, gold sales in India are strongest during this period as it is considered auspicious for purchases.
“Large jewelers who we spoke to reported similar or slightly lower levels of sales than the previous year. The overall market though reported a fall in jewelry in volume terms,” the council said.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery fell 0.67% to trade at USD33.71 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery tumbled 2.4% to trade at USD3.495 a pound.
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