Gold prices steady as investors await Fed meeting outcome

Gold was little changed on Wednesday ahead of the outcome of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting that investors hope will unveil more bond buying measures, supporting bullion’s appeal as a hedge against inflation.

Spot gold traded nearly flat at US $1,708.91 an ounce. The US gold was also little changed, at US $1,708.20.

President Barack Obama and US House of Representatives speaker John Boehner said on Tuesday after exchanging new proposals to avert the ?fiscal cliff? as negotiations intensified ahead of the end-of-year deadline.

A Reuters poll showed that the US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a new round of Treasury securities purchases at its policy meeting which concludes later in the day.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned against a slide into populism on Tuesday as Silvio Berlusconi attacked his technocrat government, accusing it of failed ?Germano-centric? policies that had dragged Italy into recession.

Holdings of gold-backed exchange-traded funds edged up to 76.178 million ounces on Dec 10, after slipping from a record high of 76.187 million ounces in the previous session.

US stocks rose on Tuesday, led by gains in technology companies, helping the S&P 500 end at its highest level since Election Day.

The dollar wallowed at three-month lows against the Australian currency and remained broadly under pressure on Wednesday as markets geared up for more stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

Courtesy: The Indian Express