Investing.com - Gold prices posted mild gains in Asia on Wednesday with investors cautious of a sentiment shift as the Fed nears a widely expected rate hike at the end of the year.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up 0.14% to $1,275.35 a troy ounce.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery fell 0.07% to $17.767 a troy ounce, while copper futures rose 0.05% to $2.136 a pound.
Overnight, gold prices added to overnight gains as a recent string of upbeat U.S. economic data combined with hawkish remarks from key Fed officials heightened expectations for higher interest rates in the coming months.
However, a dip in the October U.S. Conference Board consumer confidence index to 98.6 from 103.5 the previous month caught attention.
Traders are currently pricing in around a 78.3% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's December meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
The precious metal is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.