Investing.com - Gold and silver prices turned lower on Wednesday, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready to discuss a way out of the Ukrainian crisis with the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery traded at $1,303.80 an ounce during U.S. morning hours, down 0.37%, or $4.80.
Gold held in a range between $1,301.60 an ounce and $1,314.70 an ounce. Futures dipped 0.05%, or 70 cents, on Tuesday to settle at $1,308.60.
Gold prices were likely to find support at $1,272.00 an ounce, the low from May 2 and resistance at $1,326.90, the high from April 15.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery shed 0.42%, or 8.2 cents, to trade at $19.56 a troy ounce. Silver ended Tuesday’s session up 0.38%, or 7.4 cents, to settle at $19.64 an ounce.
Russian President Putin will meet with OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Swiss President Didier Burkhalter in Moscow on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.
Gold has been well-supported in recent weeks as the conflict between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists continued to escalate, stoking fears that the crisis will develop and drag the U.S. deeper into the standoff.
The West is accusing Russia of leading a separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine after it annexed Crimea last month.
Meanwhile, market players looked ahead to a congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day.
Fed chief Yellen was expected to reiterate that the central bank intends to keep rates on hold for longer, in spite of last month’s stronger-than-forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls report in her congressional testimony later in the session.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for July delivery slumped 0.78%, or 2.4 cents, to trade at $3.033 a pound.
Data released earlier showed that China’s HSBC Services Purchasing Managers Index ticked down to 51.4 in April from 51.9 in March, underlining concerns that an economic slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy is deepening.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.