Investing.com -
Investing.com - Gold prices edged lower on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar strengthened following the release of the minutes of the Federal Reserve's January policy meeting.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery traded in a range between $1,308.70 a troy ounce and $1,314.80 an ounce.
Gold prices last traded at $1,313.90 an ounce during European morning hours, down 0.5%. Futures ended Wednesday's session down 0.3%, or $4.00, to settle at USD1,320.40 an ounce.
Prices were likely to find support at $1,299.90 a troy ounce, the low from February 14 and resistance at $1,332.40, the high from February 18.
Meanwhile, silver for March delivery lost 1.1% to trade at $21.61 a troy ounce. The March contract shed 0.22% to settle at USD21.85 an ounce on Wednesday.
Wednesday's minutes of the Fed's January meeting indicated that the central bank will maintain the current pace of reductions to its stimulus program, as long as the economy continues to improve as expected.
Market players looked ahead to key U.S. data later in the day to further gauge the strength of the economy.
The U.S. is to release the weekly report on initial jobless claims and data on consumer price inflation. The nation is also to release data on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
Gold prices have been well-supported in recent weeks amid concerns that the U.S. economic recovery has lost momentum since the end of last year as inclement winter weather weighed on growth.
Gold has gained nearly 7% since the beginning of the year, following a 28% drop in 2013.
Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery dropped 0.7% to trade at $3.263 a pound.
Data released earlier showed that China's HSBC Flash Purchasing Managers Index, the earliest indicator of the country's industrial activity, fell to a seven-month low of 48.3 in February from a final reading of 49.5 in January, further suggesting that the world's second-largest economy may be facing a slowdown.
The Asian nation is the world's largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
