Investing.com - Gold prices edged lower in Asia on Wednesday with investors glued for the latest policy review by the Fed to be announced later in the day.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Gold for December delivery fell 0.24% to $1,325.15 a troy ounce.
Silver futures for September delivery dropped 0.22% to $19.640 a troy ounce, while copper futures for September delivery rose 0.45% to $2.233 a pound.
Overnight, gold inched up on Tuesday remaining near one-month lows, as policymakers from the Federal Reserve received a final opportunity to digest a mixed batch of economic data ahead of a closely-watched interest rate decision in the middle of the week.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to leave its benchmark interest rate at a targeted range between 0.25 and 0.50% for their fifth straight meeting. On Tuesday, the CME Group's (NASDAQ:NASDAQ:CME) Fed Watch tool placed the probability of a July rate hike at 2.4%.
Even if the FOMC holds rates steady, analysts will closely parse the monetary policy statement for signals on whether the Committee is leaning towards further tightening when it meets again in late-September. The odds of a September rate hike, according to the CME Group, rose to 25.2% on Tuesday, up from 18.8% a day earlier. By December, the odds rise substantially to 41.7%, in line with previous estimates over the last week.
Any rate hikes by the FOMC this year are viewed as bearish for gold, which struggles to compete versus high-yield bearing assets in periods of rising rate environments.