The price of gold was ticking higher Wednesday morning as the US dollar was mixed ahead of the outcome of two-day FOMC meeting, due out later today.
Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, was adding $2.70 to $1,665.40 an ounce. Yesterday, gold snapped its four-session losing streak to settle higher with the precious metal finding favor with investors after the dollar trended lower against a basket of major currencies. Gold was supported by some weak economic data out of the U.S., with consumer confidence for January dropping to a fourteen-month low. Standard & Poor's Composite Home Price Index showed an improvement, albeit a tad lower than what economists expected.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 1,328.09 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was lingering around its 11-month low versus the euro, while hovering near a 5-month high against sterling. The buck was trading around its its 30-month high versus the yen and ticking lower against the Swiss franc.
In economic news, euro zone economic confidence strengthened more than expected in January, survey results from European Commission showed. The economic confidence index climbed to 89.2 from 87.8 in December and stayed above the consensus forecast of 88.2. Data showed that confidence picked up in construction, services and among consumers and remained broadly stable in industry and retail trade.
From the U.S., the ADP will release its private sector employment report at 8.15 a.m. ET. Economists expect the private sector to have added 172,000 jobs compared to the 215,000 jobs added in December.
A little later, the Commerce Department is set to release its advance estimate of fourth quarter GDP . The consensus expectations call for 1 percent sequential GDP growth for the quarter, notably slower than the 3.1 percent growth for the third quarter. The Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its weekly petroleum inventory report at 10:30 am ET.
