Gold Ends Higher on Fed's Policy

CHICAGO, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose Thursday, finding support after the U.S. Federal Reserve reiterated its commitment to ultra- easy monetary policy.

The most active gold contract for December delivery gained 11.4 dollars, or 0.67 percent, to settle at 1,713 dollars per ounce.

After the close of regular gold trading Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee made no changes to its ultra-easy monetary policy, continuing to express concerns over the trajectory of growth in the American economy as well as weak employment trends, reports say.

According to market analysts, the market was not expecting much from the Fed statement, nonetheless, the commitment to ongoing asset purchases at 40 billion U.S.dollars a month is a supportive factor for gold, and the Fed's decision to maintain its monetary policy helped gold stage a slightly recovery overnight.

Strength in the U.S. dollar tends to weigh on dollar- denominated metal prices, such as gold.

The ICE dollar index, a measure of the greenback's performance against a basket of six major global currencies, rose to 80.038 from 79.932 late Wednesday.

Silver for December delivery rose 45.8 cents, or 1.45 percent, to close at 32.078 dollars per ounce.