Investing.com - Gold futures held near a two-week high in rangebound trade during European morning hours on Wednesday, as ongoing expectations for further easing measures by central banks around the world continued to support the precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,615.95 a troy ounce during early European trade, dipping 0.35%.
The August contract traded in between a tight range of USD1,620.65 a troy ounce, the daily high and a session low of USD1,613.75 a troy ounce. Prices hit USD1,625.65 a troy ounce on Tuesday, the highest since June 19.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,551.35 a troy ounce, the low from June 29 and near-term resistance at USD1,634.25, the high from June 19.
Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Wednesday, with COMEX floor trading and U.S. equity markets closed for the Independence Day holiday.
Sentiment on the precious metal continued to be supported by hopes for a fresh stimulus measures by policy makers in the euro zone and the U.S.
Investors were eyeing the outcome of the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday.
The ECB was widely expected to announce an interest rate cut to 0.75% from the current record low 1.00% to help bolster growth in the region, following a recent string of weak economic data.
The Bank of England is also set to update markets on its policy on Thursday, amid hopes the central bank could increase the size of its government bond-buying program.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., surprisingly weak manufacturing data earlier in the week fuelled speculation that the Federal Reserve may implement a third round of quantitative easing, to shore up growth in the U.S. economy, which has been hit by the ongoing crisis in the euro zone.
Investors were also awaiting Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
Gold traders will be closely watching U.S. data in the second quarter for clues as to the likelihood of a fresh round of monetary easing, which could potentially hurt the dollar and support gold.
Market players are also hoping for further easing measures from Beijing to boost growth in China, the world’s second largest economy.
Expectations of monetary stimulus tend to benefit gold, as the metal is seen as a safe store of value and inflation hedge.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery declined 0.65% to trade at USD28.09 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 0.8% to trade at USD3.513 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for August delivery traded at USD1,615.95 a troy ounce during early European trade, dipping 0.35%.
The August contract traded in between a tight range of USD1,620.65 a troy ounce, the daily high and a session low of USD1,613.75 a troy ounce. Prices hit USD1,625.65 a troy ounce on Tuesday, the highest since June 19.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,551.35 a troy ounce, the low from June 29 and near-term resistance at USD1,634.25, the high from June 19.
Trade volumes were expected to remain light on Wednesday, with COMEX floor trading and U.S. equity markets closed for the Independence Day holiday.
Sentiment on the precious metal continued to be supported by hopes for a fresh stimulus measures by policy makers in the euro zone and the U.S.
Investors were eyeing the outcome of the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday.
The ECB was widely expected to announce an interest rate cut to 0.75% from the current record low 1.00% to help bolster growth in the region, following a recent string of weak economic data.
The Bank of England is also set to update markets on its policy on Thursday, amid hopes the central bank could increase the size of its government bond-buying program.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., surprisingly weak manufacturing data earlier in the week fuelled speculation that the Federal Reserve may implement a third round of quantitative easing, to shore up growth in the U.S. economy, which has been hit by the ongoing crisis in the euro zone.
Investors were also awaiting Friday’s U.S. nonfarm payrolls report.
Gold traders will be closely watching U.S. data in the second quarter for clues as to the likelihood of a fresh round of monetary easing, which could potentially hurt the dollar and support gold.
Market players are also hoping for further easing measures from Beijing to boost growth in China, the world’s second largest economy.
Expectations of monetary stimulus tend to benefit gold, as the metal is seen as a safe store of value and inflation hedge.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery declined 0.65% to trade at USD28.09 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 0.8% to trade at USD3.513 a pound.