Gold Prices Consolidate, Await Fed, Beige Book

GOLD PRICE NEWS – The gold price fluctuated between gains and losses on Wednesday as precious metals remained in consolidation mode for the third straight week.  Gold prices held in a narrow range in overnight trading, between $1,760 and $1,770, amid relative stability in the U.S. dollar and broader currency markets.

Silver outperformed the price of gold this morning, rising $0.21, or 0.6%, to $34.09 per ounce.  However, over the past month silver has held in a range between $33.50 and $35.00.  Thus far in October, the prices of gold and silver are now lower by 0.5% and 1.3%, respectively.

Gold stocks also fared better than the yellow metal, as the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) climbed $0.67, or 1.3%, to $52.75 per share.  Despite today’s gain, the GDX remains down by 1.8% this month, after reaching an 11-month high of $55.25 on September 21st.

Notable gold miners moving higher this morning, nevertheless, included Goldcorp (GG), Harmony Gold (HMY), and Yamana Gold (AUY).  Shares of GG rose by 0.9% to $44.75, HMY by 1.8% to $8.01, and AUY by 1.7% to $18.78.

(Go to GoldAlert Pro – http://pro.goldalert.com for more coverage on gold stocks, including analysis and rankings on every component in the GDX)

In comments on the recent consolidation in the gold price, Ross Norman – CEO of bullion broker Sharps Pixley – stated that “Bearing in mind where the dollar is, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see more weakness before moving higher, but generally speaking the market has moved back into the doldrums.”

Norman added that “The markets are light and people are sitting on their hands trying to take a good reading of broadly what is going on. For investors to re-immerse themselves massively behind the current gold price, they are looking for clarity about where the economy is really going.”

With regard to the U.S. economy, all eyes will be on the release this afternoon of the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book – which provides an overview of recent economic activity across each of the central bank’s districts.  In addition, data on weekly jobless claims will be released on Thursday morning, followed by the Producer Price Index (PPI) – a closely-followed measure of inflation – as well as the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index on Friday.