Gold, silver surge as Fed move punishes dollar

Prices rally after U.S. Fed’s QE decision, ECB’s decision to stand pat


By Laura Mandaro and Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Gold futures surged Thursday following European central-bank policy decisions that showed a sharp contrast with those of the Federal Reserve, whose new $600 billion quantitative easing program helped drive down the U.S. dollar.

December gold (GCZ10 1,381, +42.90, +3.21%) surged $40, or nearly 3%, to $1,377.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract had closed Wednesday in New York down $19.30, for a loss of 1.4%.


Silver (SIZ10 2,592, +148.40, +6.07%) rallied $1.08, or 4.4%, to $25.53 an ounce.