Gold Ends Lower Ahead Of Fed Meet, Upbeat Data

(RTTNews) - Gold futures ended lower for a third straight session Wednesday, under heavy selling pressure after some upbeat private jobs data from the U.S. and the dollar strengthening against a basket of major currencies. Investors awaited the outcome from the Federal Reserve policy meet due later today and the jobs data later in the week.

In an upbeat sign for the U.S. labor market, a report from payroll processor Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) on Wednesday showed private sector employment to have increased more than expected in December.

Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, slipped $4.10 or 0.3 percent to close at $1,225.50 an ounce Wednesday on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for February delivery scaled an intraday high of $1,231.80 and a low of $1,218.30 an ounce.

Yesterday, gold settled lower on some upbeat trade data from the U.S., ahead of the Fed policy meet outcome and jobs data later in the week.

Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, were unchanged at 794.62 tons.

The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, traded at 81.10 on Wednesday, up from its previous close of 80.87 late Tuesday in North American trade. The dollar scaled a high of 81.14 intraday and a low of 80.83.

The euro traded lower against the dollar at $1.3571 on Wednesday, as compared to its previous close of $1.3615 late Tuesday in North America. The euro scaled a high of $1.3635 intraday and a low of $1.3560.

In economic news from the U.S, a report from payroll processor Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) on Wednesday showed private sector employment increased more than expected in December. ADP said the private sector added 238,000 jobs in December following an upwardly revised increase of 229,000 jobs in November. Economists expected an increase of about 200,000 jobs compared to the addition of 215,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

From Europe, shop prices in the United Kingdom fell for the eighth consecutive month in December, dropping 0.8 percent on year, the British Retail Consortium said Wednesday. That missed the forecast for a contraction of 0.4 percent following the 0.3 percent decline in November. The decline was the largest on record for any month since the survey began in 2006.