Gold was little changed early Wednesday before the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) offers the latest on the tapering debate underway inside the Federal Reserve.
Billion traders are bracing for a new direction amid growing speculation about the tapering of Fed's stimulus program as early as December. Although tapering uncertainty remains evident ahead of the FOMC minutes, Fed chief Ben S. Bernanke on Tuesday said the central bank's main interest rate will probably remains at record low for a "considerable time" after asset purchases end
Spot Gold fell 0.11% to $1,274.26 an ounce as of 01:17 ET, compared with yesterday's flat close at $1,275.72. The day's narrow range is so far between $1,273.93 and $1,276.55.
The Fed surprises the markets by not slowing the pace of bond purchases in September and stood pat on interest rates in October due to uncertainty over the state of the world`s largest economy amid a government shutdown and gridlock in Congress over the debt ceiling.
Bernanke's latest comments were dovish on stimulus, building a stronger case for an ultra-easy monetary policy for at least for a long period as been called for by other Fed officials including Janet Yellen, who has been nominated to succeed him.
Pressure remains evident across the broad market, with prices currently moving in a tight range for the second day below the $1,278 resistance level within the main descending channel, as traders hold grounds for the second day ahead of the key release from the Fed.
Accordingly, the release of minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting will be closely watched for clues about when the central bank will start trimming its $85 billion monthly bond purchases.