Investing.com - Gold prices edged up modestly on Wednesday, but gains remained limited amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner than expected.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at $1,166.10 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours, up $3.10, or 0.27%.
A day earlier, prices tacked on $3.20, or 0.28%, to settle at $1,163.00. Gold hit $1,130.40 an ounce on November 7, a level not seen since April 2010.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,130.45, the low from November 7, and resistance at $1,177.50, the high from November 10.
The US Dollar Index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, dipped 0.05% to trade at 87.57, moving away from last week's four-year high of 88.31.
Gold prices often move inversely to the U.S. dollar, as gold becomes less expensive for buyers using other currencies.
Comex gold prices have been under heavy selling pressure in recent weeks amid speculation the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising interest rates for the first time in eight years after ending its monthly bond-buying program, also known as quantitative easing, last month.
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 December delivery shed 0.6 cents, or 0.04%, to trade at $15.67 a troy ounce. Prices fell to $15.04 an ounce on November 7, the weakest level since February 2010.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for December delivery declined 0.1 cents, or 0.02%, to trade at $3.032 a pound, as traders looked ahead to key Chinese economic data later in the week to gauge the strength of the world’s second largest economy and biggest consumer of the industrial metal.
China is due to release data on October industrial production, fixed asset investment and retail sales on Thursday. The Asian nation is also scheduled to produce data on new-loans, a key barometer of economic activity.
A disappointing report could force policymakers in Beijing to introduce fresh stimulus to spur economic growth.
China is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.