Bernanke Outlook
Bernanke made his comments at a press conference after the settlement and the release of a statement by Federal Open Market Committee following a two-day meeting. The Fed currently buys $85 billion in Treasury and mortgage debt each month.
As of yesterday, holdings in global ETPs backed by gold tumbled 517.4 tons, or 20 percent, to 2,114.6 tons, the lowest since March 2011, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
“The ETF size and the outflows from the ETF market have a disproportionate effect on the sentiment of the market because of their extreme visibility,” Mark Keenan, an analyst at Societe Generale SA, said this week on Bloomberg Television’s “First Up” with Zeb Eckert. “We see ultimately about 800 tons coming out of the ETFs for this year.”
This year’s gold slump follows 12 straight annual gains. The metal has surged 55 percent since the end of 2008, reaching an all-time high of $1,923.70 in September 2011, as the Fed cut borrowing costs to a record to bolster the economy.