Gold & Silver Gain 1.6% as Fed Sticks with "Exceptionally Low Rates" for an "Extended Period"

From Chris Mullen at GoldSeek.com...

Gold and silver traded as much as 1% above yesterday’s close in Asia and London on Tuesday, before they both jumped even higher in New York following the US Federal Reserve's latest "no change" decision on interest rates.

The US central bank kept its Fed Funds rate in its record-low target range of 0.00% to 0.25% as expected.

The Fed also repeated in its statement that policy-makers expect rates to remain "exceptionally low" for an "extended period".

For the second consecutive meeting, however, Kansas City Fed president Thomas Hoenig dissented, putting on record his belief that keeping rates at such exceptionally low level for an extended period is no longer warranted.

Crude oil climbed back over $80 a barrel as the US Dollar index fell ahead of, and then in response to, the Fed’s decision.

Treasuries rose along with the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P – which rose 0.4% - on the Fed’s continued pledge to keep rates low.
 
The Dollar Gold Price ended near its noon-time high of $1127.35 with a gain of 1.6%, a percentage rise matched by silver, which ended near its high of $17.46 per ounce.

The Gold Price in Euros rose to about €817 despite Euro strength.

Gold Mining and silver equities rose over 2% in the first hour of trade before they dipped, only to rise again and end with almost 3% gains.

Platinum gained $8.50 to $1623.50, and copper climbed 5 cents to about $3.36.

On the date front, both US Building Permits and new Building Starts were above expectations in Feb, but lagged January according to official data.

Import and export prices also fell, with US goods dropping 0.5% on average for foreign buyers last month as the Dollar rallied.

Wednesday at 08:30 EST brings US Producer Price Inflation figures for Feb., expected to show a 0.2% fall from Jan., with Core PPI expected up 0.1%.

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