Bullions remained choppy, as weaker dollar against euro helped gold to retain upside momentum but investors awaited direction from the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting starting later in the day. The dollar held steady against a basket of major currencies, and traders said the U.S. currency's strength was weighing on bullion. The global economy is expected to shrink 2.9% this year as per the World Bank said more than the 1.7 percent contraction it predicted in March. The inflationary figures of various economies are still near all time lows and since gold is considered as a hedge against inflation the prices can further remain subdued. The investor demand also remained low this month as the holdings with the world’s biggest ETF remained unchanged.
Crude Oil steadied around $67 a barrel, after a fall of nearly 4% the previous day. The market awaited U.S. weekly inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute due later on Tuesday and U.S. government oil stocks figures on Wednesday for clues on the demand outlook for the world's top energy consumer. A Reuters poll of analysts ahead of the government inventory data forecast crude stocks fell by 1.3 million barrels last week on lower imports, while gasoline stocks and distillates, including heating oil and diesel fuel, were seen rising.
Copper rebounded after two days of losses, but earlier touched a three-week low as investors balanced signs the Chinese economy will remain strong with concerns the world's top economies face a slow recovery. Copper for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange rose to $4,845 a tonne from a close of $4,740 on Monday. China's economy is headed in the right direction but the foundations of the recovery are not yet solid, a Chinese central bank official said on Tuesday. The LME Index of the six base metals traded on the exchange declined 5.4 percent, the most since Jan. 27, and has slid more than 10 percent from this year’s peak.
