Investing.com - Gold gained in early Asia on Wednesday as investors weighed market sentiment after China cut interest rates and the cash reserve ratio overnight.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.37% to to trade at $1,142.50 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours. Silver futures gained 0.34% to $14.660 a troy ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for September delivery on the Comex rose 0.20% to trade at $2.300 a pound.
A day earlier, copper futures tumbled to $2.209, a level not seen since July 2009, before recovering slightly to end at $2.259, down 4.4 cents, or 1.93%.
Overnight, gold prices tumbled sharply on Tuesday, after data showed that U.S. consumer confidence improved to a seven-month peak in August, boosting optimism over the health of the economy and supporting the case for an interest rate hike this year.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence jumped to 101.5 this month from a reading of 91.0 in July. Analysts expected the index to rise to 93.4 in August.
The Present Situation Index increased from 104.0 last month to 115.1 in August, while the Expectations Index improved to 92.5 from 82.3 in July.
The upbeat data should strengthen expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate hike as early as next month.
The dollar plunged almost 2% on Tuesday to hit a seven-month low of 92.52, as mounting uncertainty over the global growth outlook and the subdued U.S. inflation outlook has prompted investors to push back expectations for an initial rate hike by the Fed.
Meanwhile, global equity markets and oil prices rebounded from a brutal selloff in the prior session after China's central bank cut interest rates in a bid to boost economic growth and halt a stock market rout.
The People's Bank of China cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.6%. The bank also cut the reserve requirement ratio for large lenders by 0.5% to 18.0%.
Chinese equities have lost nearly 30% over the past two weeks amid growing fears over China's slowing economy.
Fears over a global economic downturn, led by a slowdown in China’s economy have intensified in recent days, accelerating a selloff in equities, commodities and emerging-market assets.