Precious metals end moderately higher

Bullions rise for first time in three sessions Bullion metals ended higher for first time in three days at Comex on Monday, 22 October 2012. Prices rose as traders awaited the outcome an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting on U.S. monetary policy later this week. Prices also rose after the dollar slipped earlier during the day. Gold for December delivery on Monday rose $2.3, or 0.1%, to $1,726.3 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose to a high of $1,730 during intra day trading. Prices closed 2% lower last week. It was second consecutive weekly loss for the yellow metal. On Monday, the December silver contract ended higher by 16 cents, or 0.5%, to $32.25 an ounce. Prices fell to a low of $31.94 during intra day trading. Last week, silver shed 4.7%. The ICE dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, fell by almost 0.2% on Monday earlier during the day. Later, it pared its losses and rose by almost 0.2%. Among economic data expected for the day, a bigger than expected fall in Japan's exports, once again reflected the global economic slowdown and curbing investors' appetite for assets perceived as risky. Exports to China, which overtook the United States as Japan's top market in 2009, fell 14.1% in September from a year earlier, the biggest decline since January. Shipments to the European Union also dropped a striking 21.1% as Europe's debt crisis remained firmly entrenched. The Fed's policy-setting arm will begin its meeting on Tuesday, with a formal statement set for release on Wednesday. At the MCX, gold prices for December delivery closed higher by Rs 219 (0.7%) at Rs 31,068 per ten grams. Prices rose to a high of Rs 31,252 per 10 grams and fell to a low of Rs 30,982 per 10 grams during the day's trading. At the MCX, silver prices for December delivery closed lower by Rs 227 (0.4%) at Rs 59,614/Kg. Prices opened at Rs 59,845/kg and fell to a low of Rs 59,325/Kg during the day's trading.