Gold down slightly on profit-taking

Investing.com - Gold futures traded slightly lower in the early part of Wednesday’s Asian session as traders in the region locked in profits in the yellow metal following a strong showing by bullion on Tuesday.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery inched down 0.01% to USD1,411.05 per troy ounce in Asian trading Wednesday. The October contract settled higher by 1.14% at USD1,411.70 per ounce on Tuesday.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,374.10 a troy ounce, the low from Sept. 1, and resistance at USD1,433.50, the high from Aug. 28.

Traders boosted gold Tuesday as they searched for safe-have plays after congressional Republicans said they would support President Barack Obama's calls for military strikes against Syria.

Key Republican lawmakers including House Speaker John Boehner said earlier Tuesday they'd support a presidential call for U.S. military attacks on Syria via limited air or missile strikes.

Last week, the U.K. parliament voted against joining the U.S. in coalition strike against Syria, indicating that if the U.S. does pursue a military option, it might have to do so alone.

Lingering Syria-related tensions prompted traders to focus more on geopolitical news than some encouraging U.S. economic data.

In U.S. economic news out Tuesday, the Institute for Supply Management said its August manufacturing index climbed to 55.7% from 55.4% in July, good for the highest reading since June 2011. Economists expected a reading of 54.1%. The new orders index soared to 63.2% from 58.3%, but the production index fell to 62.4% from 65%.

Elsewhere, Comex silver for December delivery fell 0.13% to USD24.398 per ounce while copper for December delivery dropped 0.27% to USD3.305 per ounce.