Gold futures held onto their gains Wednesday afternoon despite encouraging
economic news from the Federal Reserves latest Beige Book. COMEX gold for
February delivery settled higher by $8.10, or 0.5%, at $1,639.60 per ounce, and
the yellow metal later climbed to $1,642.00 in electronic trading. The Beige
Book, which is made up economic reports from each regional branch of the Fed,
noted that the reports on balance suggest ongoing improvement in economic
conditions in recent months, with most Districts highlighting more favorable
conditions than identified in reports from the late spring through early fall.
Other highlights from the Beige Book included: - Consumer spending picked up in
most Districts, reflecting significant gains in holiday retail sales compared
with last years season, and activity in the travel and tourism sector expanded
in most areas - Demand strengthened further for nonfinancial services, including
professional and transportation services - Manufacturing activity generally
continued to expand, although the pace of growth has slowed for selected
subsectors such as technology products - Activity stayed sluggish in residential
real estate markets, and conditions in commercial real estate markets remained
somewhat soft overall but showed signs of ongoing improvement in several
Districts - Reports from financial institutions generally indicated a slight
uptick in loan demand by businesses, along with improvements in overall credit
quality The full version of the Feds Beige Book is available at the link below:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/fomc/beigebook/2012/20120111/default.htm
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