IV:Gold prices weaker in Asia as investors look ahead to the Fed
Investing.com - Gold prices fell in Asia on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a Federal Reserve meeting set to give further guidance on the timing of plans to taper its USD85 billion in monthly asset purchases.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,240.40, down 0.32%.
London-based market research group Markit reported earlier that its preliminary U.S. manufacturing purchasing managers’ index declined to a seasonally adjusted 54.4 in December from a final reading of 54.7 in November.
Analysts were expecting the index to rise to 54.9 this month.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported earlier that its Empire State manufacturing index came in at 0.98 in December compared to November's -2.21 reading, though analysts were expecting the index to rise to 4.75.
Separately, the Federal Reserve reported that U.S. industrial production advanced 1.1% in November after having edged up 0.1% in October, beating consensus forecasts for a 0.5% November reading.
The data encouraged investors to sell the greenback for profits until the Fed makes its policy stance clear on Wednesday.
Market talk said gold, which has taken a beating in recent sessions on expectations for the Fed to taper on Dec. 18, could rally if the U.S. central bank opts to hold off until early 2014.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for March delivery was down 0.89% at USD19.923 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery was down 0.20% and trading at USD3.319 a pound.
