Investing.com - Gold prices slipped in Asia on Wednesday as investors wound down risk positions and looked ahead to the Federal Reserve.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December eased 0.08% to $1,067.60 a troy ounce.
Silver for December delivery fell 0.50% to $14.100 a troy ounce and copper for December delivery gained 0.05% to $2.098 a pound.
Overnight, gold futures fell sharply on Tuesday to fresh five-year lows, as investors continued to brush off geopolitical concerns stemming from last week's terrorist attacks in Paris dampening the precious metal's value as a safe haven asset.
Elsewhere, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday that its Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.2% for the month of October amid considerable increases in Medical Care, Education and Vacation prices. Further gains, though, were restrained by modest increases in home prices, which rose by 0.2% after a 0.3% gain in September. Overall, analysts expected monthly gains in the October CPI of 0.2%.
On a yearly basis, October CPI inched up by 0.2% over the last 12 months up from a flat reading in September. Following two months of steep declines, energy prices jumped by 0.3% in October, while food prices inched up by 0.1%.
Core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, rose by 0.2% on a monthly basis in line with consensus estimates. Over the last year, Core CPI has increased by 1.9%, unchanged from the yearly gains reported a month earlier. Also in September, the Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Index, increased by 1.3% year-over-year, unchanged from the previous month. The Core PCE Index is the Fed's preferred gauge for inflation as it weighs whether to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.
Long-term inflation has remained under the Fed's targeted goal of 2% for every month over the last three years. Last week, Fed vice chairman Stanley Fischer said he expects inflation to move toward its target over the next year as temporary factors from a stronger dollar and weak energy prices continue to recede.
An interest rate hike is viewed as bearish for gold which struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets.