Investing.com - Gold prices were steady in European trading on Monday, as investors locked in profits after the precious metal rose to a six-month high, boosted by the Federal Reserve's announcement of a third round of quantitative easing measures.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery were down 0.05% at USD1,769.35 a troy ounce, up from a session low of USD1,768.35 and down from a high of USD1,776.15 a troy ounce early during the session.
Gold futures were likely to test support at USD1,768.35 a troy ounce, the day's low, and resistance at USD1,776.15, the earlier high.
The Fed announced last week that it would buy USD40 billion of mortgage-backed securities every month and would keep buying them until the job market improves.
"We want to see lower unemployment. We want to see a stronger economy that can cause the improvement to be sustained," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said following the central bank's two-day policy meeting.
The bank also said it expects to keep short-term interest rates at record low levels through at least mid-2015, six months longer than previously anticipated.
Monetary stimulus measures in the U.S. weaken the dollar to spur recovery, quantitative easing especially, sending gold climbing, in this case, hitting highs not seen since February of this year.
But gold began to cool its rally, as investors sold on sentiment the precious metal is becoming ripe for profit taking.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery was down 0.25% and trading at USD34.563 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery dropped 0.98%, to trade at USD3.796 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery were down 0.05% at USD1,769.35 a troy ounce, up from a session low of USD1,768.35 and down from a high of USD1,776.15 a troy ounce early during the session.
Gold futures were likely to test support at USD1,768.35 a troy ounce, the day's low, and resistance at USD1,776.15, the earlier high.
The Fed announced last week that it would buy USD40 billion of mortgage-backed securities every month and would keep buying them until the job market improves.
"We want to see lower unemployment. We want to see a stronger economy that can cause the improvement to be sustained," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said following the central bank's two-day policy meeting.
The bank also said it expects to keep short-term interest rates at record low levels through at least mid-2015, six months longer than previously anticipated.
Monetary stimulus measures in the U.S. weaken the dollar to spur recovery, quantitative easing especially, sending gold climbing, in this case, hitting highs not seen since February of this year.
But gold began to cool its rally, as investors sold on sentiment the precious metal is becoming ripe for profit taking.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery was down 0.25% and trading at USD34.563 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery dropped 0.98%, to trade at USD3.796 a pound.