Precious Metals, Markets Bounce on Fed Easing Report

Commodity and stock prices turned higher Wednesday afternoon after reports that
the Federal Reserve is considering a sterilized form of bond buying. The Wall
Street Journal reported that under the potential program, The Fed would print
new money to buy long-term mortgage or Treasury bonds but effectively tie up
that money by borrowing it back for short periods at low rates. The aim of such
an approach would be to relieve anxieties that money printing could fuel
inflation later, a fear widely expressed by critics of the Feds previous efforts
to aid the recovery. Following the report, COMEX gold futures per the April
contract climbed from $1,674 to as high as $1,687 per ounce.