Gold prices slightly down in Asia as market awaits Fed

Investing.com - Gold prices eased in Asia on Wednesday as the market readies for the Federal Reserve announcement on its latest policy stance.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at $1,227.90 a troy ounce, down 0.05%, after hitting an overnight session low of $1,222.40 and off a high of $1,235.20.

The Fed is widely seen closing its bond-buying program, though uncertainty as to whether or not the statement will contain dovish or hawkish language surrounding interest rates prompted investors to avoid the yellow metal ahead of time.

Investors expect the U.S. central bank to hike interest rates some time in 2015, though spotty U.S. data have many second guessing whether tightening will come sooner or later in the year.

Overnight, gold prices traded flat on Tuesday, giving back gains from mixed U.S. data that had softened the dollar, which trades inversely with the yellow metal.

The dollar slid and gold spiked earlier after data revealed that that U.S. orders for long-lasting manufactured goods fell unexpectedly for a second consecutive month in September.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported earlier that total durable goods orders, which include transportation items, decreased by 1.3% last month, disappointing expectations for a gain of 0.5%.

Orders for durable goods in August were revised to a decline of 18.3% from a previously reported drop of 18.4%.

Durable goods are typically designed to last at three years and include trains, planes and automobiles.

Core durable goods orders, which are stripped of volatile transportation items and include household appliances and similar components, eased down by 0.2% in September, defying forecasts for a 0.5% gain. Core durable goods orders rose by 0.7% in August.

Orders for core capital goods, a key barometer of private-sector business investment, fell by 1.7% last month, worse than expectations for a 0.6% increase and after rising 0.3% in August.

The Conference Board reported earlier that its consumer confidence index jumped to 94.5 this month from 89.0 in September, boosted by a more favorable assessment of the current job market and business conditions.

Economists had expected the index to tick down to 87.0 this month.

The report left many investors concluding that while demand for goods and services in the U.S. remains cautious, consumers still remain upbeat over the U.S. economy and will ramp up spending soon.

Gold prices also hovered flat after investors jumped to the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve's statement on monetary policy on Wednesday.

Silver futures for December delivery fell 0.01% at $17.195 a troy ounce. Copper futures for December delivery gained 0.04% at $3.092 a pound.