Gold and Silver Await Fed’s FOMC Meeting

On Tuesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for August delivery fell $3.80 to settle at $1,623.20 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures dipped 30 cents to close at $28.37.

Both precious metals edge slightly lower ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which concludes tomorrow and may extend the central bank’s Operation Twist program.

Meanwhile, eurzone fears continue to weigh over the markets. On Tuesday, Spain had to pay a 5.07 percent interest rate to sell 12-month Treasury bills and 5.11 percent to sell 18-month debt. The rates were around two percentage points higher than seen last month. The WSJ reports, “Spanish government bond yields have risen to successive euro-era highs in recent days, with the 10-year yield above 7 percent, a sign that demand for Spanish debt is rapidly drying up. In a sign of the seriousness of the market situation for Spain, the country’s Treasury stuck to low volumes in its auction, as it has done in previous weeks, and relatively short maturities.”

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In afternoon trading, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) decreased .39 percent, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) fell almost 1 percent. However, gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) and AngloGold (NYSE:AU) gained .55 percent and .65 percent, respectively. Silver companies such as First Majestic (NYSE:AG) and Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) both jumped about 1.7 percent.

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Disclosure: Long EXK, AG, HL, PHYS