Replies to post #58169 on GoodFellas Big Board Catalyst and Chart Plays

[beach_trades]

Gold and Silver Close Higher After Central Bank Chatter

January 15, 2013

On Tuesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for February delivery, the most active contract, increased $14.50 to settle at $1,683.90 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for March jumped 42 cents to close at $31.53.

Both precious metals climbed higher as central bank officials lend support for more Federal Reserve intervention. Narayana Kocherlakota, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said more should be done to reduce the unemployment rate.

In a statement before the Financial Planning Association of Minnesota, he explains, “I would say that my outlook for unemployment and my outlook for inflation both point to a need for more accommodation than is currently being provided by the FOMC.”

Meanwhile, Eric Rosengren, president of the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, told MarketWatch that quantitative easing should not conclude until the unemployment rate falls to 7.25 percent.

Fed Chairman Bernanke late Monday said the U.S. economic recovery is still fragile and strongly hinted that the Fed’s monthly bond-buying program will not end any time soon. That was a bullish development for the raw commodity markets, including the precious metals. The most recent FOMC minutes had shown some Fed officials were in favor of ending the bond-buying program at year end.