Gold Falls as Swiss Voters Seen Rejecting SNB Bullion Measure

New York (Nov 19)  Gold futures headed for the biggest loss in two weeks after a poll showed Swiss voters will reject an initiative that would require the nation’s central bank to hold at least 20 percent of assets in bullion.

About 47 percent of voters are seen as voting “no” on the Swiss National Bank measure, according to a gfs.bern poll for Swiss public broadcaster SRF.

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose for the second time in three sessions. Traders are awaiting today’s release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes for guidance on when the central bank will raise interest rates. Gold open interest has climbed to the highest in 22 months as investors added to short holdings.

“Worries about the Swiss referendum getting rejected triggered the sell-off,” Frank McGhee, the head dealer at Integrated Brokerage Services LLC in Chicago, said in a telephone interview. “Then, of course, some technical levels got triggered.”

Gold futures for December delivery fell 1.5 percent to $1,178.80 an ounce at 11:54 a.m. on the Comex in New York, heading for the biggest loss since Nov. 5.

The Federal Open Market Committee releases minutes from its October meeting at 2 p.m. in Washington. At the gathering, policy makers ended their bond-buying program and cited an improving job market.

Source:  Bloomberg