Investing.com - Gold prices held near the $1,200-level during early European trade on Wednesday, as market players looked ahead to the release of key U.S. data later in the session for further indications on the strength of the economy and the possible future path of monetary policy.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for February delivery tacked on $1.30, or 0.11%, to trade at $1,199.10 a troy ounce during European morning hours.
A day earlier, Comex gold prices inched up $1.20, or 0.1%, to settle at $1,197.80 an ounce.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,177.00, the low from November 20, and resistance at $1,208.20, the high from November 21.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a flurry of data ahead of Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday, including reports on durable goods orders, unemployment claims, personal income and spending, as well as data on new and pending home sales and revised data on consumer sentiment.
Data on Tuesday showed that the U.S. economy posted growth of 3.9% in the three months to September, far higher than the initial estimate of 3.5%. Economists had forecast a small downward revision to 3.3%.
A separate report showed that consumer confidence index fell to a five-month low in November, one month after touching its highest level in seven years, as optimism over the short term outlook waned.
Gold prices are likely to remain vulnerable in the near-term amid indications a strengthening U.S. economic recovery will force the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates sooner and faster than previously thought.
Expectations of higher borrowing rates going forward is considered bearish for gold, as the precious metal struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when rates are on the rise.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March dipped 0.8 cents, or 0.05%, to trade at $16.60 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for March delivery declined 1.5 cents, or 0.5%, to trade at $2.963 a pound. On Tuesday, Comex copper prices fell to $2.935, the lowest level since March 19 amid ongoing concerns over the health of the global economy.
Copper is sensitive to the economic growth outlook because of its widespread uses across industries.