Investing.com - Gold rose in Asia on Wednesday with investors noting mixed China PMI estimates.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for August delivery rose 0.34% to $1,221.65 a troy ounce.
Silver futures for July delivery hained 0.35% to $16.050 a troy ounce. Copper futures for July delivery fell 0.43% to $2.075 a pound.
The Caixin manufacturing PMI came in at 49.2, below the 49.3 expected, and down from the previous 49.4.
Earlier in China the semi-official CFLP manufacturing PMI for May came in a bit higher than expected at 50.1, unchanged from the previous month. The non-manufacturing PMI for May came in at 53.1, down from 53.5 the previous month.
China is the world's top copper importer and the world's largest producer of gold and the world's second-largest consumer of the yellow metal behind India.
Overnight, gold inched up/inched on Tuesday amid a relatively flat dollar, as mixed U.S. economic data likely did little to sway the Federal Reserve in either direction ahead of a highly-anticipated interest rate decision from the U.S. central bank next month.
Gold is coming off one of its worst weeks of the year when it plunged more than 2.5%, as investors reacted to strong indications from the Fed that it could raise interest rates when it meets again in mid-June.
Since hitting 15-month highs around $1,300 an ounce at the start of May, gold has plummeted more than $80 an ounce. Still, the precious metal is holding onto massive gains from the first quarter and is on pace for one of its strongest first halves of a year in more than a decade.
On Tuesday morning, the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said its Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose by 0.3% in April, in line with consensus estimates.
It came as consumer spending surged 1.0% on the month, considerably above a downwardly revised flat reading from March. At the same time, personal income increased by 0.4% on the month also line with analyst's forecasts.
The Core PCE Index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, ticked up 0.2% from March's reading, one month after experiencing slight gains of 0.1%. On an annual basis, the core reading rose by 1.6% unchanged from the previous month. The Core PCE Index is the Fed's preferred gauge of long-term inflation. While inflation has firmed somewhat in recent months, it has stubbornly remained under the Fed's 2% targeted objective for the majority of the last three years.
There is currently a 20.6% probably the Fed will raise interest rates in June, according to CME Group's (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:CME) Fed Watch tool, up from 11.3% a month earlier. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has left its benchmark Federal Funds Rate at its current level between 0.25 and 0.50% in each of its first three meetings this year. Some analysts believe the FOMC could wait until after a controversial Brexit vote on June 23 before approving its first rate hike of the year.
Following the FOMC's July meeting, the CME Group says there is a 48.6% chance that the target range of the Fed Funds Rate will be between 0.50 and 0.75%, up from 26.0% a month ago.
Any rate hikes by the Fed this year are viewed as bearish for Gold which struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in rising rate environments.