Gold futures settled lower on Wednesday after moving in a very tight band below the unchanged line, as traders made cautious moves ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement.<\/p>\n
With inflation at an elevated level, the Fed is widely expected to end its $120 billion a month bond buying program sooner than previously expected and bring forward the possible timing of rate hikes.<\/p>\n
Reports suggest the Fed could double the rate it is reducing its asset purchases to $30 billion per month from the $15 billion per month announced at its previous meeting in November.<\/p>\n
Traders looked ahead to the central bank’s policy announcement and the accompanying statement. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will brief the press at 2.30 PM ET.<\/p>\n
A slightly higher dollar weighed on the yellow metal. The dollar index, which advanced to 96.68, eased a bit subsequently and was at 96.63, up 0.07% from the previous close.<\/p>\n
Gold futures for February ended down by $7.80 or about 0.4% at $1,764.50 an ounce.<\/p>\n
Silver futures for March closed lower by $0.379 at $21.545 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $4.1825 per pound, down $0.0750 from the previous close.<\/p>\n
Data released by the Commerce Department showed U.S. retail sales edged up by 0.3% in November after soaring by an upwardly revised 1.8% in October. Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.8% compared to the 1.7% spike originally reported for the previous month.<\/p>\n
A report from the Labor Department showed U.S. import prices increased in line with economist estimates in the month of November, climbing by 0.7%, after surging by an upwardly revised 1.5% in October.<\/p>\n
A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed an unexpected acceleration in the pace of growth in regional manufacturing activity in the month of December.<\/p>\n