Investing.com - Gold prices rose on Tuesday in subdued trading as investors wanted to ditch neither gold nor the dollar until the Federal Reserve releases its statement on monetary policy on Wednesday.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at 1,237.40 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, up 0.19%, up from a session low of $1,232.60 and off a high of $1,242.60.
The December contract settled up 0.29% at $1,235.10 on Monday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1226.30 a troy ounce, Monday's low, and resistance at $1,279.20, last high from Sept. 4.
The Federal Reserve will announce its latest statement on monetary policy this Wednesday, and expectations for the U.S. central bank to cut its monthly bond-buying program to $15 billion from $25 billion kept the greenback firm.
Investors are also hoping to see a timetable as to when U.S. interest rates may rise.
Many expect to see rate hikes kick in 2015, the timing of which remains unclear.
Federal Reserve officials have expressed concern about persistent slackness in the U.S. labor market, though some have said rate hikes could come sooner than markets are expecting if the economy continues to improve.
Both gold and the dollar, which trade inversely with one another, remained firm ahead of the announcement, as investors didn't want to ditch either until the Fed makes its announcement.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, official data showed that U.S. producer price inflation was flat last month, compared to expectations for a 0.1% rise after a 0.1% gain in July.
Core PPI, which excludes food, energy, and trade rose 0.1% in August, in line with expectations, after an increase of 0.2% in July.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery was up 0.56% at $18.725 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery were up 2.40% at $3.160 a pound.