Investing.com - Silver prices edged higher on Wednesday, ahead of the conclusion of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the day.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver futures for March delivery traded at USD19.96 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.65%. Comex silver prices traded in a range between USD19.81 a troy ounce and USD20.01 a troy ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at USD19.44 a troy ounce, the low from December 16 and resistance at USD20.29, the high from December 16.
Silver prices settled 1.3% lower on Tuesday to end at USD19.84 a troy ounce after data showed that consumer price inflation in the U.S. was flat in November, while prices excluding food and energy costs inched up modestly.
The Fed will release a policy statement upon the conclusion of its two-day meeting later Wednesday, followed by a press conference by Chairman Ben Bernanke, his final as Fed chief.
Investors remained wary ahead of the outcome of the Fed’s final policy meeting of the year, with some expecting the central bank to announce a small reduction in the pace of its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.
However, many believe that policymakers will wait until early next year to start rolling back stimulus, despite recent indications the U.S. economic recovery is deepening.
Silver is down approximately 35% this year, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Fed will begin curbing stimulus.
Elsewhere on the Comex, gold for February delivery added 0.3% to trade at USD1,233.90 a troy ounce, while copper for March delivery inched down 0.1% to trade at USD3.318 a pound.
