Bullion prices ended higher at Comex on Tuesday, 17 September 2019. Gold futures on Tuesday marked a second gain in a row, extending a climb to the highest price in about a week. Traders continued to monitor developments tied to the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil-infrastructure as they shifted focus to the Federal Reserve decision Wednesday on interest rates.
December gold on Comex tacked on $1.90, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,513.40 an ounce, after a 0.8% gain on Monday. Prices for the most-active contract marked their highest settlement since Sept. 6 for a second straight session. Silver for December delivery added 11.4 cents, or 0.6%, to end at $18.14 an ounce, after a 2.6% rally on Monday.
Ahead of Wednesday's policy statement, U.S. economic data were upbeat, with industrial production up 0.6% in August, the largest gain in a year and the home-builder confidence index up one point to 68 in September. Industrial production increased 0.6% mom in August which was much stronger than expected and followed an upwardly revised 0.1% decline (from -0.2%) in July. Total capacity utilization ran at 77.9%, up from 77.5% in the prior month. The key takeaway from the report is that all of the major market groups recorded gains in August, which is a reassuring development in terms of the economic growth outlook.
The NAHB Housing Market Index for September increased to 68 (consensus 66) from 67 in August (revised from 66).
The dollar index fell 0.4% on Tuesday.
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