Investing.com - Gold prices inched higher for the first time in four sessions on Wednesday, as investors returned to the market to seek cheap valuations after futures fell to a one-week low.
Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on $1.90, or 0.18%, to trade at $1,087.10 a troy ounce by 14:40GMT, or 9:40AM ET. It earlier fell to $1,079.60, the lowest since January 6.
On Tuesday, prices lost $11.00, or 1%, as the metal’s safe-haven appeal was dented amid a recovery in global equity markets.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery jumped 24.4 cents, or 1.77%, to trade at $13.99 a troy ounce during morning hours in New York.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures moved away from six-and-a-half year lows on Wednesday, as the latest trade figures out of China eased some concerns over the health of the world's second-biggest economy, while also pointing to strong demand for the red metal.
Chinese exports in yuan-denominated terms rose 2.3% from a year earlier in December, rebounding from a drop of 3.7% in November, while imports declined 4.0%, compared with a 5.6% decrease a month earlier. That left the Asian nation with a surplus of 382 billion yuan.
In dollar-terms, exports slumped just 1.4% in December, far better than forecasts for a decline of 8.0%, while imports dropped 7.6%, compared to expectations for a drop of 11.5%, leaving China with a surplus of $60.1 billion last month.
China’s copper arrivals in December surged 15.2% from a month earlier to 530,000 metric tons, the second highest monthly total on record, easing worries over weakening demand prospects from the Asian nation.
Prices of the red metal are down 7% so far in 2016 as a meltdown on China’s stock market and a rapid depreciation of the yuan rattled investor sentiment.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 45% of world consumption.