Investing.com - Gold prices jumped up on Tuesday as investors braced for decisions on interest rates and monetary policy from the Federal Reserve, with many market participants expecting policy to remain loose.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were up 0.41% at USD1,473.45 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Tuesday, up from a session low of USD1,460.65 and down from a high of USD1,479.15 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,460.65 a troy ounce, the earlier low, and resistance at USD1,484.75, Friday's high.
In the U.S., a manufacturing barometer for the Midwest region of the country disappointed earlier and further weakened the dollar.
The Chicago purchasing managers’ index dropped 49.0 from 52.4 in March, confounding expectations for a reading of 52.5.
Similar gauges for New York state and the Philadelphia area have disappointed in the recent past, and Tuesday's numbers out of Chicago stoked already growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep monetary stimulus tools in place, including its monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar to spur recovery.
Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely from one another.
The Fed will conclude a two-day monetary policy on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the U.S., housing and consumer-confidence data came in better than expected.
The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. home price index rose at 9.3% in February from a year earlier, above expectations for a 9.0% increase.
Separately, the Conference Board said its index of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 68.1 in April from 61.9 in March, far above expectations for a reading of 60.8.
Expectations for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates also pushed gold prices up.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery was down 0.03% at USD24.158 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery was down 1.26% and trading at USD3.186 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery were up 0.41% at USD1,473.45 a troy ounce in U.S. trading on Tuesday, up from a session low of USD1,460.65 and down from a high of USD1,479.15 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to test support USD1,460.65 a troy ounce, the earlier low, and resistance at USD1,484.75, Friday's high.
In the U.S., a manufacturing barometer for the Midwest region of the country disappointed earlier and further weakened the dollar.
The Chicago purchasing managers’ index dropped 49.0 from 52.4 in March, confounding expectations for a reading of 52.5.
Similar gauges for New York state and the Philadelphia area have disappointed in the recent past, and Tuesday's numbers out of Chicago stoked already growing expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep monetary stimulus tools in place, including its monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program, which weakens the dollar to spur recovery.
Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely from one another.
The Fed will conclude a two-day monetary policy on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the U.S., housing and consumer-confidence data came in better than expected.
The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. home price index rose at 9.3% in February from a year earlier, above expectations for a 9.0% increase.
Separately, the Conference Board said its index of U.S. consumer confidence rose to 68.1 in April from 61.9 in March, far above expectations for a reading of 60.8.
Expectations for the European Central Bank to cut interest rates also pushed gold prices up.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for July delivery was down 0.03% at USD24.158 a troy ounce, while copper for July delivery was down 1.26% and trading at USD3.186 a pound.