17/08/07: Gold futures soar on Federal Reserve decision

The Federal Reserve's decision to slash its discount rate from 6.25 per cent to 5.75 per cent allowed gold to rise sharply today (August 17th).

According to Reuters, gold jumped by two per cent on Friday, due to the recovery of global financial markets in response to the move by the Federal Reserve.

Spot gold reached $663.50 an ounce after the decision and was trading at $658 a troy at 1410 GMT.

According to the Reuters report, many investors have altered their attitude to gold in recent weeks, with some large investors treating it as "just another asset to be bought and sold" rather than "a safe-haven".

Despite gold's rise, a senior trader at Wisdom Financial told Market Watch that he remains unsure as to the nature of the latest shift.

"I don't buy this rally at all," Zachary Oxman, said.

"I believe you're seeing a short covering, a temporary bounce. I think this is a speculative bump and a rookie open and I'd be very surprised to see the market take a rally this large into the weekend, stocks and gold included."