Investing.com - Gold was mostly steady in Asia on Tuesday with little to spur investors as they assess the Federal Reserve once again on the likely chance of a rate hike next month.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded nearly flat at $1,133 a troy ounce.
Silver for December delivery fell 0.24% to 15.185 a troy ounce.
Copper for December delivery declined 0.27% to $2.383 a pound.
Overnight, gold futures fell mildly on Monday, as commodity traders locked into profits from late last week when the precious metal surged to near-monthly highs.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said on Monday morning that 12-month business inflation expectations inched down to 1.7% in September, from its August level of 1.8%. At 1.7% the current rate fell back to its level from the first four months of the year and approached near multi-year lows. Last week, the FOMC downgraded its median inflation forecasts at its September monetary policy meeting to 0.3% for the end of 2015, while lowering inflation expectations for the end of next year to 1.7%. The Federal Reserve now expects that inflation will not reach its 2.0% target until 2018.
Over the weekend, San Francisco Fed president John Williams emphasized that the FOMC's decision to leave rates unchanged for a 55th consecutive meeting was a "close call," providing indications that a rate hike could occur before the end of the year. Addressing a conference on the U.S.-China financial system, Williams said the U.S. labor market could reach full employment in the "near future," even though inflation still remains far below the Fed's expectations.
"Given the progress we've made and continue to make on our goals, I view the next appropriate step as gradually raising interest rates," Williams said.
Other members of the FOMC appear considerably more hawkish. James Bullard, a non-voting member of the committee, told CNBC that he would have dissented if he had a vote last week, citing ample accommodation in the system to offset potential deflation. "I understand that there are risks out there but you have to take a prudent policy and inch your way back to normal," Bullard said.
Gold, which is not attached to dividends or interest rates, struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in rising rate environments.
Investors are also preparing for the release of a wave of economic indicators later this week that could provide further signals on the direction of the global economy. On Tuesday, the euro zone will issue reports on economic sentiment and consumer confidence for September, a day before China releases its manufacturing index for the month.
At week's end, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its third estimate of U.S. GDP in the second quarter. Real GDP is expected to remain at 3.7% for the quarter.