Investing.com - Gold futures edged lower in European trade on Tuesday, as investors readjusted positions ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting due to begin later in the day.
The Fed is not expected to take action on interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, but traders will be looking for its take on the global economy and its monetary policy outlook.
Many in the market anticipate the pace of increases to be gradual amid concerns over global economic growth and divergent monetary policies between the U.S. and other nations.
Meanwhile, investors also looked ahead to data on March durable goods orders as well as a report on April consumer confidence due later Tuesday to gauge if the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand further rate hikes this year.
Gold for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange shed $4.50, or 0.36%, to trade at $1,235.80 a troy ounce by 06:47GMT, or 2:47AM ET. A day earlier, gold tacked on $10.20, or 0.83%, boosted by a broadly weaker U.S. dollar.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, last stood at 94.72, little changed for the day.
Prices of the yellow metal are up nearly 16% so far this year as expectations faded that the Fed would move to normalize interest rates due to fears over a China-led global economic slowdown.
A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery dipped 8.4 cents, or 0.49%, to trade at $16.92 a troy ounce during morning hours in London, while copper futures declined 1.3 cents, or 0.58%, to $2.243 a pound.