by Myra P. Saefong and William Watts
Market Watch
Gold futures tallied a ninth gain in a row on Wednesday to settle at another record, then moved even higher after the Federal Open Market Committee reiterated plans to keep interest rates near zero until the economy sees further improvement.
In its statement after two days of talks, the Fed noted economic activity and jobs “have picked up somewhat in recent months” while pledging again to use its full range of tools to support further improvement.
“The Fed came out with no surprises, and basically told the market it would be business as usual going forward — or unusual as the case may be,” said Brien Lundin, editor of Gold Newsletter. “With this one, small element of uncertainty removed, gold responded well and resumed its rally.”