Investing.com - Gold futures turned lower in U.S. afternoon trade Wednesday as a report of the European Central Bank launching an unlimited bond buying program to help solve the debt crisis activated the risk on trade away from the precious metal
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,692.15 a troy ounce during U.S. afternoon trade, dropping 0.09%.
Prices were stuck in a narrow trading range of USD1,687.25 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,694.25 a troy ounce. Gold futures rallied to USD1,698.75 a troy ounce on Tuesday, the highest since March 13.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,644.45 a troy ounce, the low from August 31 and near-term resistance at USD1,706.15, the high from March 13.
Investors were nervous prior to the ECB’s policy meeting on Thursday, at which President Mario Draghi was expected to announce details of measures to help stabilize the region’s sovereign debt markets.
Bloomberg reported earlier that the ECB is planning "unlimited, sterilized" bond buying plan, without setting bond yield targets. The plan is reported to be focused on government bonds with maturities of up to three years.
Meanwhile, gold traders also looked ahead to Friday’s crucial U.S. non-farm payrolls data, which will allow investors to gauge the strength of the labor market and the need for additional easing by the Federal Reserve.
A disappointing jobs report could influence the Fed’s decision at its next policy meeting starting on September 12.
Speculation the Federal Reserve was moving closer to introducing fresh measures to stimulate growth in the U.S. economy mounted on Tuesday after data showed that manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted for the third consecutive month in August.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated last week that the central bank will act as needed to strengthen the U.S. economic recovery.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would pump more money into the financial system.
Gold gained as much as 15% earlier this year to hit USD1,790 an ounce after the Fed said in January it would keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014 and indicated that it could introduce a fresh round of asset-purchases.
However, prices have lost almost 5% since late February, as the Fed failed to deliver more easing and amid concerns over the euro zone’s deepening debt crisis, which has fueled demand for the precious metal's hedge, the greenback.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery fell 0.50% to trade at USD32.248 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery surged 1.52% to trade at USD3.522 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery traded at USD1,692.15 a troy ounce during U.S. afternoon trade, dropping 0.09%.
Prices were stuck in a narrow trading range of USD1,687.25 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,694.25 a troy ounce. Gold futures rallied to USD1,698.75 a troy ounce on Tuesday, the highest since March 13.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,644.45 a troy ounce, the low from August 31 and near-term resistance at USD1,706.15, the high from March 13.
Investors were nervous prior to the ECB’s policy meeting on Thursday, at which President Mario Draghi was expected to announce details of measures to help stabilize the region’s sovereign debt markets.
Bloomberg reported earlier that the ECB is planning "unlimited, sterilized" bond buying plan, without setting bond yield targets. The plan is reported to be focused on government bonds with maturities of up to three years.
Meanwhile, gold traders also looked ahead to Friday’s crucial U.S. non-farm payrolls data, which will allow investors to gauge the strength of the labor market and the need for additional easing by the Federal Reserve.
A disappointing jobs report could influence the Fed’s decision at its next policy meeting starting on September 12.
Speculation the Federal Reserve was moving closer to introducing fresh measures to stimulate growth in the U.S. economy mounted on Tuesday after data showed that manufacturing activity in the U.S. contracted for the third consecutive month in August.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke indicated last week that the central bank will act as needed to strengthen the U.S. economic recovery.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would pump more money into the financial system.
Gold gained as much as 15% earlier this year to hit USD1,790 an ounce after the Fed said in January it would keep interest rates near zero until at least late 2014 and indicated that it could introduce a fresh round of asset-purchases.
However, prices have lost almost 5% since late February, as the Fed failed to deliver more easing and amid concerns over the euro zone’s deepening debt crisis, which has fueled demand for the precious metal's hedge, the greenback.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery fell 0.50% to trade at USD32.248 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery surged 1.52% to trade at USD3.522 a pound.