Gold futures bounced higher Friday after a hefty loss in the prior session, poised for a modest gain on the week, as traders readied for next week’s U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and possible news on the fate of the central bank’s bond-buying program.
Gold for February delivery tacked on $7.50, or 0.6%, to $1,232.40 U.S. an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. For the week, futures prices traded about 0.3% higher.
Gold prices in the previous session tumbled more than $30 U.S. an ounce, their biggest one-day drop since October, amid growing concerns that the Fed could taper its monetary stimulus next week.
March silver also added 13 cents, or 0.7%, to $19.58 U.S. an ounce after a drop of 4.4% on Thursday. Prices were up roughly 0.2% from the week-ago close.
In a research note dated Thursday, analysts at J.P Morgan Cazenove lowered their forecasts on gold — by 10% to $1,263 U.S. for 2014 and by 12% to $1,275 U.S. for 2015. They left their 2014 and 2015 forecast for silver at $21.38 and $22 U.S., respectively.
Elsewhere in metals trading, January platinum shed $4.40, or 0.3%, to $1,360 U.S. an ounce, trading about 0.3% higher for the week, while March palladium rose one dollar, or 0.1%, to $721.30 U.S. an ounce, set for a loss of around 2% for the week.
High-grade copper for March delivery climbed by a penny to $3.305 U.S. a pound and was up 1.7% from last Friday’s close.
