INV: Gold swings between gains and losses near 3-week low on Syria, Fed
Investing.com - Gold futures swung between small gains and losses near a three-week low on Wednesday, as concerns over the risk of military intervention against Syria diminished, denting the safe-haven appeal of the precious metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,362.80 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.1%.
Gold traded in a range between USD1,356.90 a troy ounce, the daily low and the weakest level since August 22 a session high of USD1,368.20 a troy ounce.
The December contract ended Tuesday’s session down 1.65% at USD1,364.00 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,351.90 a troy ounce, the low from August 20 and resistance at USD1,399.40, the high from September 5.
In an address to the nation late Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama said that he had asked Congress to postpone a vote on taking military action against Syria.
Instead, President Obama said that he will explore a plan proposed by Russia for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control.
Gold prices surged to a three-and-a-half month high of USD1,433.50 a troy ounce on August 28 as safe-haven buying picked up amid indications the U.S. was close to taking military action against Bashar al-Assad’s government.
Meanwhile, investors continued to speculate over the timing of the Federal Reserve’s widely expected reduction in monthly bond purchases following last week’s weaker-than-forecast U.S. jobs report.
The central bank is scheduled to meet September 17-18 to review the economy and assess policy.
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.
Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs said in a report Wednesday that it expects that “gold prices will decline into 2014 on the back of an acceleration in U.S. activity and a less accommodative monetary policy stance.”
The bank said it was maintaining its three- and six-month targets of USD1,300 an ounce. For 12 months, Goldman's target is USD1,175 an ounce.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery inched up 0.4% to trade at USD23.10 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery added 0.45% to trade at USD3.278 a pound.
