Gold, silver fall as traders anticipate that Fed could be more likely to reduce stimulus

New York (Nov 21)  Gold and silver prices fell Wednesday as traders anticipated that the Federal Reserve may be closer to reducing its economic stimulus than previously expected.

The prospect of fewer bond purchases diminished the threat the program could trigger inflation and a weaker dollar, key drivers of higher gold and silver prices.

Gold for December delivery fell $15.50, or 1.2 percent, to settle at $1,258 an ounce Wednesday. December silver lost 27.6 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $20.058 an ounce.

Minutes from the central bank’s policy meeting last month showed that the Fed would likely begin reducing its bond purchases in the coming months if the job market continued to improve.

Policymakers also considered slowing down the purchases even if there wasn’t clear evidence that the job market was improving.

December copper inched up less than a penny to $3.1595 a pound.

January platinum fell $20.30, or 1.4 percent, to $1,399.60 an ounce. December palladium fell $8.05, or 1.1 percent, to $713.85 an ounce.

December corn fell three-quarters of a cent to $4.17 a bushel. December wheat fell 3 cents to $6.4725 a bushel and January soybeans fell 2.5 cents to $12.7375 a bushel.

In energy trading, U.S. crude for December delivery fell 1 cent to close at $93.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The more heavily traded January contract slipped 4 cents to $93.85.

The price of crude oil has traded between $93 and $96 a barrel this month and is down from nearly $110 a barrel in early October due to ample supplies and tepid demand.