Investing.com - Gold futures remained lower on Wednesday, despite data showing that the U.S. private sector added fewer-than-expected jobs in April.
Investors now awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the session for further cues on the direction of its monetary policy.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its bond-buying program sooner-than-expected.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery traded at USD1,465.15 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.45% on the day.
Comex gold prices fell by as much as 0.6% earlier in the session to hit a daily low of USD1,463.25 a troy ounce.
Gold prices were likely to find support at USD1,426.35 a troy ounce, the low from April 25 and near-term resistance at USD1,484.75, Friday’s high.
Payroll processing firm ADP said in a report earlier that non-farm private employment rose by a seasonally adjusted 119,000 in April, below expectations for an increase of 150,000.
The previous month’s figure was revised down to a gain of 131,000 from a previously reported increase of 158,000.
Market players now looked ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting, as investors try to assess the central bank's attitude towards monetary stimulus.
Recent economic data has dampened expectations for an earlier than expected end to the central bank’s asset purchase program after recent Fed minutes showed that policymakers are divided over the benefits of ongoing monetary easing.
Data on Tuesday showed that the Chicago purchasing managers’ index dropped 49.0 in April from 52.4 in March, the lowest level since September 2009.
The dismal data came after a report last week showed that the U.S. economy grew 2.5% in the first quarter, falling short of expectations for 3.0% growth, underlining concerns over the outlook for the economic recovery.
Investors are also awaiting the outcome of the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday, amid growing expectations for a rate cut, as well as Friday’s closely watched report on U.S. nonfarm payrolls.
From a technical standpoint, the precious metal is expected to meet strong resistance at the USD1,480-level.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery dropped 1.5% to trade at USD23.82 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery tumbled 1.6% to trade at a one-week low of USD3.136 a pound.
Copper prices came under pressure after official data released earlier showed that China’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index ticked down to 50.6 in April from 50.9 in March.
