Investing.com - Gold futures traded near the lowest level in almost four-weeks on Tuesday, amid speculation the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its asset purchase program at its December policy meeting. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,280.40 a troy ounce during European morning trade, down 0.05%. Comex gold prices fell to USD1,275.80 a troy ounce earlier, the weakest level since October 17. The December contract settled 0.27% lower on Monday to end at USD1,281.80 a troy ounce. Gold futures were likely to find near-term support at USD1,273.80 a troy ounce, the low from October 17 and resistance at USD1,313.30, the high from November 8. Speculation that the Fed may start to taper its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program as soon as next month mounted after official data last week showed that the U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October, much more than the 125,000 increase forecast by economists. Gold prices are down approximately 24% this year on concerns the Fed will begin to scale back its stimulus sooner than expected. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.27% to trade at 81.38. A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery shed 0.55% to trade at USD21.16 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery dipped 0.45% to trade at USD3.245 a pound.

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