Gold saw some gains yesterday throughout the day due to short covering and index buying into the close.

Gold saw some gains yesterday throughout the day due to short covering and index buying into the close. Dennis Lockhart, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, suggested that an “accommodative monetary policy” should be enacted even though he expects to see further economic growth. Lockhart expects GDP to grow from 2.5% to 3% in 2014 and if this holds true, he believes the Fed should continue tapering at its current pace. Investors continue to remain bearish on the overall outlook of AU for 2014 as the shiny yellow metal loses its luster as an inflationary hedge. Core Retail Sales (excluding auto sector) are up .7% for December vs.  .1% for November. December Retail sales are up .2% vs. .4% for November. The Fed’s next meeting is scheduled for January 29-30 so we will have to wait two more weeks to see what the taper timetable will look like. Have a great day!