Precious metals ETFs soared in Thursday’s premarket after Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke indicated the central bank plans to keep interest rates low even if the job market improves.
The release of the minutes of the Fed’s June meeting on Wednesday afternoon showed several officials supported the idea of tapering bond purchases.
However, after a speech yesterday Bernanke reassured markets that easy monetary policy would remain in place for some time regardless of any substantial drop in the unemployment rate, TheStreet reports. In late 2012, the Fed said it planned to keep interest rates at historic lows until the jobless rate falls below 6.5%, as long as inflation remains in check.
“There will not be an automatic increase in interest rate when unemployment hits 6.5%,” Bernanke said, adding that inflation remains low and the job market needs more improvement, according to the story.