Investing.com - Gold prices slipped on Thursday as investors avoided the yellow metal ahead of the Federal Reserve's statement on monetary policy meeting next week, which many bet will see further cuts to the U.S. central bank's monthly bond-buying program.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at 1,239.50 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, down 0.47%, up from a session low of $1,235.80 and off a high of $1,250.80.
The December contract settled down 0.26% at $1,245.30 on Wednesday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,235.20 a troy ounce, the low from Jan. 23, and resistance at $1,279.20, last Thursday's high.
Gold extended multi-session losses on expectations for the Federal Reserve to wind down its bond-buying program in October and hike interest rates in 2015, likely sooner than later.
Loose monetary policies such as stimulus programs bolster gold due to its appeal as a hedge to a weaker dollar, while talk of tightening has the opposite effect.
The Fed is widely seen cutting its monthly bond-buying program by $10 billion to $15 billion at its Sept. 16-17 meeting before possibly closing it in October.
A Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco report published on Monday suggested rate hikes may come sooner than markets may be expecting, and investors hope next week's statement will provide similar clues.
Despite disappointments here and there, U.S. economic indicators collectively point to a recovery that is gaining steam.
Still, losses were somewhat limited, as expectations for physical demand to rise in Asia due to seasonal factors gave the commodity some support.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery was down 1.58% at $18.627 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery were down 0.57% at $3.093 a pound.