Gold Heads for Biggest Gain in 3 Weeks on U.S. GDP Data

Gold capped the biggest gain in almost three weeks after a report showed the U.S. economy unexpectedly shrank in the fourth quarter, boosting demand for the metal as a haven. Silver jumped the most since September.

Gross domestic product, the volume of all goods and services produced, dropped at a 0.1 percent annual rate, weaker than any forecast in a Bloomberg survey and the worst performance since the second quarter of 2009, government figures showed today. Policy makers will keep buying securities at the rate of $85 billion a month, the Federal Open Market Committee said today at the conclusion of a two-day meeting after the close of New York floor trading for gold.