Investing.com - Gold prices edged lower in North American trade on Wednesday, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy statement for clues on the course of its next monetary tightening.
Comex gold futures were at $1,247.11 a troy ounce by 8:25AM ET (1225GMT), down $5.10, or about 0.4%. Gold prices ended lower on Tuesday, suffering the first back-to-back decline in about three weeks.
The Fed is not expected to take action on interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting at 2:00PM ET (1800GMT), keeping it in a range between 1.0%-1.25%.
The central bank will release its post-meeting statement as investors look for any change in language which could point more clearly to the timing of its next rate hike. Market players will also pay close attention to details of when and how the Fed will start reducing its $4.5 trillion balance sheet.
The Fed's comments on inflation will also be in focus.
According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, conviction for another rate hike before the end of the year has faded, with just 40% of market players expecting another move by December, as the subdued inflation outlook raised doubts over whether policymakers will be able to stick to their planned tightening path.
Focus will also be on headlines coming out of Washington, where the Senate is expected to continue working to repeal Obamacare. The investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump campaign's ties to Russia will continue to get attention.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures slumped 15.3 cents, or roughly 0.9%, to $16.38 a troy ounce.
Among other precious metals, platinum was down 1.1% at $921.85, while palladium was little changed at $856.12 an ounce.
Meanwhile, copper futures climbed to their highest level in more than two years amid talk China may ban imports of some scrap metal from the end of 2018.
That could lead to higher refined copper imports into the world\'s largest consumer of the metal.