Gold, silver futures inch higher in cautious trade ahead of Fed

Investing.com - Gold and silver prices inched higher in cautious trade on Wednesday, as market players prepared for the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and possible news on the fate of the central bank’s bond-buying program.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery traded at USD1,235.70 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.45%. Comex gold prices held in a tight range between USD1,228.10 a troy ounce and USD1,236.60 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,219.50 a troy ounce, the low from December 13 and resistance at USD1,251.70, the high from December 16.

The February contract settled down 1.15% on Tuesday to end at USD1,230.10 a troy ounce after data showed that consumer price inflation in the U.S. was flat in November, while prices excluding food and energy costs inched up modestly.

Meanwhile, silver for March delivery added 0.75% to trade at USD19.99 a troy ounce. Comex silver prices held in a range between USD19.81 a troy ounce and USD20.01 a troy ounce.

The Fed will release a policy statement upon the conclusion of its two-day meeting, followed by a news conference by Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Investors remained wary ahead of the outcome of the Fed’s final policy meeting of the year, with some expecting the central bank to announce a small reduction in the pace of its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program.

However, many believe that policymakers will wait until early next year to start rolling back stimulus, despite recent indications the U.S. economic recovery is deepening.

Gold is down approximately 26% this year, while silver has lost nearly 35%, as solid U.S. economic data underlined expectations the Fed will begin curbing stimulus.

Elsewhere on the Comex, copper futures for March delivery inched down 0.2% to trade at USD3.316 a pound.