Weekly Round-Up: Gold, Silver Still Trading Up After Fed Meeting

The gold price was sitting at $1,136.87 per ounce as of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday, up significantly from the $1,105 to $1,110 range it was trading in at the beginning of the week. 
The yellow metal was boosted Thursday after the US Federal Reserve announced that it will not be raising interest rates. The central bank made the decision at a two-day meeting that concluded at 2:00 p.m. EST that day.
Investors have long been anticipating an interest rate hike from the Fed, and originally the expectation was that a rise would negatively impact the gold price. However, as the rate increase has been pushed further out, the likelihood of it having a big impact on the gold price has lessened.
As Caroline Bain, an analyst at Capital Economics, explained to Reuters, a rise at this point in time would probably result in some short-lived price weakness — but not too much. That’s because “the gold market has now largely adjusted to the prospect that the Fed will start to raise rates by end-year.” On the flip side, the Fed’s Thursday decision not to raise rates may have a brief positive impact on the gold price, but that’s about it.

For its part, the silver price fared much the same as gold on Thursday. It rose as high as $15.22 per ounce immediately after the Fed’s announcement, and as of 1:00 p.m. EST on Friday was changing hands at about the same level.
On the base metals side, the copper price was boosted this week for a very different reason. On Wednesday, an 8.3-magnitude earthquake rocked Chile, sparking investor concern about supply disruptions — LME copper rose to a near eight-month high on the news, hitting $5,440.50 per tonne.
Chile is the world’s top copper-producing country and the world’s five top copper mines are located in the country, so it’s easy to see why investors were concerned. However, worries have since abated. According to The Wall Street Journal, the metal’s price had drifted lower by Thursday.
Finally, the oil price took a beating after the Fed’s announcement — MarketWatch reported Friday that oil futures are poised for their largest daily drop in over a week. The Fed’s decision reportedly has investors concerned about the US economy, and by extension energy demand.
The news outlet said that on Friday morning WTI crude for October delivery was trading at $45.43 per barrel on the NYMEX, down $1.47, or 3.1 percent. Meanwhile, Brent crude for November delivery was down 2 percent, at $48.11 per barrel, on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

 
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Related reading: 
Gold Price Jumps as Fed Leaves Rates Steady
Silver Reaches Highest Price Yet in September on Fed Decision
Copper Price Jumps as 8.3-magnitude Earthquake Rocks Chile