Gold Ends Lower Ahead Of Fed Meet Outcome

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended lower on Wednesday, as investors remained focused on the outcome from the two-day U.S. Federal Reserve policy meet later today, with the dollar slipping against some major currencies. Traders also remained apprehensive over developments in Ukraine, with global equity markets wavering.

Gold edged higher early on in the session amid tensions over Ukraine, but buying interest waned a bit as stocks rebounded and on hopes of more stimulus announcements from China.

Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, dropped $3.20 or 0.2 percent to close at $1,305.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday.

Gold for April delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,314.30 and a low of $1,301.10 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold ended at a two-week high with developments in Ukraine continuing to create anxiety and the dollar trending lower.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, was reported at 806.48 tons on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 79.76 on Wednesday, down from its previous close of 79.77 late Tuesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 79.88 intraday and a low of 79.63.

The euro traded higher against the dollar at $1.3839 on Wednesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3798 late Tuesday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3841 intraday and a low of $1.3780.

In economic news, wholesale inventories in the U.S. rose less than expected in February, a Commerce Department release showed Wednesday. Wholesale inventories increased 0.5 percent in February after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in January. Economists expected inventories to rise by 0.6 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, inventories of non-durable goods edged up just 0.1 percent in February following a 0.8 percent increase in January. A jump in inventories of farm product raw materials was partly offset by a steep drop in inventories of petroleum and petroleum products.

Economic news from Europe showed Germany's exports declined more-than-expected in February, while imports increased for the second consecutive month, official data revealed Wednesday. Exports fell 1.3 percent from January, marking the second drop in three months and the largest since May 2013, Destatis said. Exports were forecast to fall 0.5 percent after expanding 2.2 percent in January.

On the other hand, German imports rose 0.4 percent, faster than the 0.1 percent growth estimated by economists. However, the rate slowed from the 4.1 percent increase seen in January.

Elsewhere, U.K.'s visible trade deficit narrowed in February, largely reflecting a decline in imports of aircraft, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Wednesday. The deficit on trade in goods fell more-than-expected to GBP 9.1 billion in February from GBP 9.5 billion in January. The shortfall was expected to decline to GBP 9.2 billion. The deficit with EU nations widened to GBP 6.2 billion, while that with non-EU countries narrowed to GBP 2.9 billion.

Driven by a sharp decline in aircraft imports, U.K.'s overall imports dropped 2.2 percent month-on-month to GBP 32.6 billion. Imports of aircraft plunged 46.3 percent from January.