Gold Rises to $1,360.40 an Ounce Ahead of Fed Meeting

Investors remained confident today the US Federal Reserve would maintain its stimulus program, pushing gold prices up to near five-week highs.

US gold futures for December delivery increased $8 to $1,360.40 an ounce, Reuters reported. Spot gold hit $1,361.60 an ounce today, its highest price since Sept. 20.

The Fed begins a two-day meeting tomorrow, and most analysts expect it will decide to continue its $85 billion per month bond-buying stimulus through the end of the year. In fact, some don’t expect the Fed to pull back on the program until March 2014, Reuters reported.

“The longer-term outlook for gold has turned a bit more positive recently because the tapering is not a foregone conclusion considering how the US data has developed over the last couple of months,” Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen told Reuters.