Investing.com - Gold futures were lower in rangebound trade on Wednesday, as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting later in the trading day.
Gold prices struggled for upside traction due to a stronger U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.25% to trade at 81.14, moving off the previous session’s low of 80.77.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,365.50 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.5%. Futures held in a tight range between USD1,359.40 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,373.90 a troy ounce.
The December contract settled up 0.5% at USD1,372.60 a troy ounce on Tuesday.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,318.10 a troy ounce, the low from August 15 and resistance at USD1,384.00, the high from August 19.
Investors were awaiting the release of the minutes from the Fed’s July meeting later in the day for further indications as to when the central bank may start to taper its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its quantitative easing program sooner-than-expected.
U.S. data on initial jobless claims and the housing sector later in the week will also be closely watched.
Gold traders have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the central bank will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months.
An exit from the stimulus would deal a heavy blow to gold, which has thrived on demand from investors who buy gold to hedge against the inflationary risks of loose monetary policies.
The precious metal is on track to post a loss of approximately 19% on the year amid concerns the Fed will start to unwind its stimulus program by the year's end.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery shed 0.4% to trade at USD22.98 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 0.6% to trade at USD3.318 a pound.
Gold prices struggled for upside traction due to a stronger U.S. dollar. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.25% to trade at 81.14, moving off the previous session’s low of 80.77.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,365.50 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.5%. Futures held in a tight range between USD1,359.40 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,373.90 a troy ounce.
The December contract settled up 0.5% at USD1,372.60 a troy ounce on Tuesday.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,318.10 a troy ounce, the low from August 15 and resistance at USD1,384.00, the high from August 19.
Investors were awaiting the release of the minutes from the Fed’s July meeting later in the day for further indications as to when the central bank may start to taper its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its quantitative easing program sooner-than-expected.
U.S. data on initial jobless claims and the housing sector later in the week will also be closely watched.
Gold traders have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
Any improvement in the U.S. economy was likely to reinforce the view that the central bank will begin to taper its bond purchase program in the coming months.
An exit from the stimulus would deal a heavy blow to gold, which has thrived on demand from investors who buy gold to hedge against the inflationary risks of loose monetary policies.
The precious metal is on track to post a loss of approximately 19% on the year amid concerns the Fed will start to unwind its stimulus program by the year's end.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery shed 0.4% to trade at USD22.98 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery fell 0.6% to trade at USD3.318 a pound.