Bullion for immediate delivery traded at $1,288.38 an ounce at 9:38 a.m. in Singapore from $1,289.88 yesterday, when prices sank 1.4 percent, the most since April 15, according to Bloomberg generic pricing.
Gold fell 28 percent in 2013 to end a 12-year rally, on expectations the Fed would scale back asset purchases. Chair Janet Yellen yesterday told U.S. lawmakers in Washington that the world™s largest economy still needs stimulus even as data supported the outlook for faster expansion this year. The central bank has announced cuts to bond-buying at each of the past four meetings.
Gold has rallied 7.2 percent this year in part as tension in Ukraine spurred haven demand. Russian President Vladimir Putin called on separatists in Ukraine to postpone a vote for autonomy and said he™s pulled Russian troops from the country™s border after weeks of tension, as the U.S. said there™s no sign of a withdrawal.