Investing.com - Gold prices jumped up and down on Wednesday as investors bought and sold the yellow metal on sentiments the Federal Reserve will conclude a two-day meeting later by announcing plans to taper its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,308.70 during U.S. afternoon hours, down 0.05%.
Gold prices hit a session low of USD1,291.70 a troy ounce and high of USD1,312.00 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,272.10 a troy ounce, the low from Aug. 7, and resistance at USD1,334.60, the high from Sept. 15.
The December contract settled down 0.64% at USD1,309.40 a troy ounce on Monday.
Gold prices jumped up and down as many investors felt the Fed will announce plans to trim the amount of bonds it buys each month to spur recovery, a stimulus tool known as quantitative easing that drives down long-term interest rates and weakens the dollar to spur recovery, a recipe for rising gold prices.
Gold fell on concerns less Fed support will tarnish precious metal's appeal as a hedge to a weaker dollar, though it jumped up at times on sentiment that the Federal Reserve will dismantle stimulus measures gradually and take its time before outright ending the program.
Few, if any, expect the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates any time soon.
Market participants largely ignored Commerce Department data revealing that U.S. building permits fell by 3.8% to 918,000 units in August from 954,000 in July. Analysts were expecting building permits to fall by 0.4% to 950,000 units last month.
The Commerce Department added that U.S. housing starts rose 0.9% to 891,000 units last month from a downwardly revised 883,000 units in July, missing expectations for a 3% increase to 917,000 units.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery was down 0.94% at USD21.580 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery was up 1.72% and trading at USD3.278 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,308.70 during U.S. afternoon hours, down 0.05%.
Gold prices hit a session low of USD1,291.70 a troy ounce and high of USD1,312.00 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,272.10 a troy ounce, the low from Aug. 7, and resistance at USD1,334.60, the high from Sept. 15.
The December contract settled down 0.64% at USD1,309.40 a troy ounce on Monday.
Gold prices jumped up and down as many investors felt the Fed will announce plans to trim the amount of bonds it buys each month to spur recovery, a stimulus tool known as quantitative easing that drives down long-term interest rates and weakens the dollar to spur recovery, a recipe for rising gold prices.
Gold fell on concerns less Fed support will tarnish precious metal's appeal as a hedge to a weaker dollar, though it jumped up at times on sentiment that the Federal Reserve will dismantle stimulus measures gradually and take its time before outright ending the program.
Few, if any, expect the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates any time soon.
Market participants largely ignored Commerce Department data revealing that U.S. building permits fell by 3.8% to 918,000 units in August from 954,000 in July. Analysts were expecting building permits to fall by 0.4% to 950,000 units last month.
The Commerce Department added that U.S. housing starts rose 0.9% to 891,000 units last month from a downwardly revised 883,000 units in July, missing expectations for a 3% increase to 917,000 units.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery was down 0.94% at USD21.580 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery was up 1.72% and trading at USD3.278 a pound.