Weekly Round-Up: Commodities Hold Steady on Fed Murkiness

Investors held back from placing any big bets Aug. 23 as they continue to wait on a sign from the Federal Reserve. The central bank has been suggesting it might soon curb its $85 billion monthly bond-buying program, and this seems even more likely after strong U.S. jobs and manufacturing data was released earlier in the week. However, the Fed’s plan is still unclear, so the market was somewhat on hold today as it waits for clarification.

According to Reuters, spot gold was flat today at $1,375.01 an ounce. Gold futures for December, however, gained $4 to reach $1,374.80 an ounce. The precious metal dropped earlier in the week due to concerns over the future of the U.S. stimulus and technical selling, but is set to end the week with little change.

“If the Fed is going to taper in September, that will be the binary event,” Matt Turner, an analyst at Macquarie, told Reuters. “It could have quite a big impact on gold.”

Silver similarly stayed steady today as investors wait on a decision from the Fed. It last traded at $23.11 an ounce, unchanged from the previous session, Reuters reported.

Copper, on the other hand, got a boost today on signs that China’s economy is recovering. As the world’s biggest consumer of the metal, investors hope its economic improvement will increase demand. Benchmark copper was trading at $7,331 a tonne in official rings in London, up from the previous day’s close of $7,320 a tonne, according to Reuters.

This is a shift from earlier in the week, when copper slid due to concerns about the Fed’s stimulus. These concerns also pushed Brent crude oil down to about $109 during the first half of the week.

However, Brent crude rose today, supported by positive reports on the global economy and future fuel demand. According to Reuters, it gained $0.49 to hit $110.39 a barrel.