Gold fluctuates near 1-week low ahead of Fed meeting

Investing.com - Gold fluctuated near a one-week low on Tuesday, as investors awaited the start of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting later in the day.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery dipped 60 cents, or 0.05%, to trade at $1,279.80 a troy ounce during European morning hours. Prices held in a range between $1,273.30 and $1,284.80.

A day earlier, gold lost $13.20, or 1.02%, to settle at $1,280.40 as appetite for safe-haven assets weakened after jitters over the Greek election diminished.

Futures were likely to find support at $1,272.10, the low from January 20, and resistance at $1,303.00, the high from January 23.

Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery declined 8.5 cents, or 0.47%, to trade at $17.89 a troy ounce. On Monday, silver slumped 31.7 cents, or 1.73%, to end at $17.98.

Market players are looking ahead to the start of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting later in the day, for further clarification on when interest rates might start to rise.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on durable goods orders, as well as private sector reports on consumer confidence and new home sales for further indications on the strength of the economy.

Meanwhile, the euro was higher against the dollar, after hitting an 11-year low in the previous session, as fears sparked by anti-austerity Syriza party's victory in Sunday's Greek elections subsided.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.25% to hit 95.04, after touching a more than 11-year high of 95.77 last Friday.

Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for March delivery shed 3.9 cents, or 1.54%, to trade at $2.506 a pound.

The March contract hit a low of $2.419 on Monday, a level not seen since June 2009, before turning higher to close at $2.543, up 4.1 cents, or 1.66%.

The red metal is down approximately 11.5% so far in January as concerns over the global economic outlook and the impact on future demand prospects dampened the appeal of the commodity.