Investing.com - Gold prices held steady in rangebound trade on Tuesday, as investors looked ahead to the delayed September nonfarm payrolls report to help assess the timing for a reduction in the Federal Reserve’s bond purchasing program. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,316.30 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.05%. Prices traded in range between USD1,313.20 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,317.30 a troy ounce. The December contract ended 0.09% higher on Monday to settle at USD1,315.80 a troy ounce. Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,273.80 a troy ounce, the low from October 17 and resistance at USD1,325.90, the high from October 18. The delayed September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been originally scheduled for release on October 4, will be published later Tuesday. The data was expected to show the U.S. economy added 180,000 jobs in September ahead of the U.S. government shutdown. There are growing expectations in the market that the Fed will delay tapering its stimulus program until at least the beginning of next year amid concerns over the impact of the 16-day U.S. government shutdown on the economic recovery. Gold prices have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the Fed would start tapering its USD85-billion-a-month asset-purchase program by the end of the year. The central bank is scheduled to meet October 29-30 to review the economy and assess policy. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery shed 0.55% to trade at USD22.20 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery was flat to trade at USD3.304 a pound.

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