Investing.com – Gold prices dipped below breakeven on Wednesday amid easing geopolitical uncertainty but losses were capped by dollar weakness following labor market data that undershot expectations.
Gold futures for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell $5.91, or 0.46%, to $1,287.76. a troy ounce.
Gold prices traded in a narrow range as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting amid a dip in geopolitical uncertainty in the wake of Catalonia’s decision to stop short of declaring independence.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said Tuesday that the declaration of independence would be suspended, in order to allow for talks with Spain to continue.
The dip in geopolitical uncertainty, however, was offset by a continued dollar weakness after labor market data fell short of expectations.
The U.S. Labor Department's latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs) report, a measure of labor demand, showed job openings in August fell to 6.082m, falling short of expectations of 6.125m.
Investor focus, however, shifted to monetary policy as the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting due later in the session could offer clues as to central bank’s thinking on the economic environment and monetary policy outlook.
“Much attention will be directed towards September’s FOMC minutes released later today, which will have the ability to punish gold, if hawks are in the vicinity,” said Lukman Otunuga, research analyst at FXTM.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
In other metals trading, silver futures fell 0.53% to $17.12 while platinum futures fell 0.35% to $933.20.
Copper traded at $3.10, up 1.16%, while natural gas, rose by 0.80% to $2.91.