Investing.com - Gold prices trimmed overnight losses during North America's session on Wednesday, but remained in negative territory as market players looked ahead to a handful of Federal Reserve speeches that may offer clues on the timing of future rate hikes.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell to a daily low of $1,325.50 a troy ounce, a level not seen since September 21. It was last at $1,329.05 by 8:45AM ET (12:45GMT), down $1.35, or 0.1%.
On Tuesday, prices sank $13.70, or 1.02%, the biggest one-day loss in almost a month, as investors took heart from an apparent win for Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton over her Republican rival Donald Trump in the first U.S. presidential debate.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen appears before the House Financial Services Committee at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT), though her main focus is expected to be on financial supervision and regulation.
Besides Yellen, Fed speakers include St. Louis Fed President James Bullard at 10:10AM ET and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans at 1:30PM ET.
There are also appearances by Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester at 4:35PM ET and Kansas City Fed President Esther George, who speaks at 7:15PM ET. Both are seen as hawks by the market after they dissented at the last meeting and voted to raise rates.
Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said Tuesday evening that the U.S. central bank should avoid raising interest rates too much. He added that rates should rise but that "I don't know when" that should happen.
Speaking shortly afterwards, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said that the Fed can raise interest rates without threatening the U.S. economic recovery, while adding that the central bank risks doing more harm by continued inaction.
The Fed left rates unchanged at a policy meeting last week, but most officials signaled a hike was likely by the end of the year. However, markets remain skeptical of such a move, with investors slashing the possibility of a December hike to around 55%, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, down from over 60% after the Fed's policy meeting last week.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion. A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.