WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures fell Wednesday amid conflicting remarks on interest rates from top central bankers.
Dec. gold was down $13.90, or 1.1%, to settle at $1,287.80/oz, the lowest since August.
Yesterday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen signaled her preference to raise interest rates. Today, however, St. Louis Fed President said rates should remain quite low.
'We should be wary of moving too gradually,' Yellen said in a speech to the National Association for Business Economics meeting in Cleveland.
'Given that monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation with a substantial lag, it would be imprudent to keep monetary policy on hold until inflation is back to 2%,' she said.
On the other hand, weak economic growth and subdued inflation should keep the Fed from tightening, said St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Wednesday.
'The current level of the policy rate is appropriate given current macroeconomic data,' Bullard said in a speech at Truman State University.
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