Investing.com - Gold prices fell during Asian trading hours on Thursday after the Federal Reserve decided to cut its monthly bond-buying program by USD10 billion.
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday left its benchmark lending target, the fed funds rate, unchanged at 0.00%-0.25% and trimmed USD10 billion from its USD75 billion monthly asset-purchasing program.
Fed asset purchases seek to spur recovery by holding down long-term interest rates, which weakens the dollar as a side effect and makes gold an attractive hedge, though talk of their dismantling can have the opposite effect.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded at USD1,267.40 a troy ounce during Asian trading, down 0.12%.
On Wednesday, gold futures traded between USD1,266.40 and 1,269.90. The April contract settled at USD1,268.80.
Futures were likely to find support at USD1,231.30 a troy ounce, the low from Jan. 23, and resistance at USD1,279.20, the high from Jan. 26.
Earlier in Wednesday, Turkey and South Africa hiked interest rates earlier to support their currencies, which rekindled fears that an end to ultra-loose monetary policies in the U.S. and elsewhere will makes assets in emerging markets less attractive, which sent stocks falling.
Gold often serves as a hedge amid global stock-market selloffs.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery was down 0.32% and trading at USD19.695 a troy ounce, while copper futures for March delivery were up 0.18% and trading at USD3.251 a pound.