WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices were flat to slightly higher on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the latest monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve as well as Chairman Jerome Powell's post-meeting press conference for clues on the policy path.
Spot gold was marginally higher at $1,431.33 per ounce while U.S. gold futures were up 0.2 percent at $1,432 an ounce.
Investors remain hopeful of a 25 bps rate cut although some are hoping for 50 bps cut to counter threats to the world's largest economy from trade and geopolitical tensions.
It will be the Fed's first rate cut since December 2008 in the depths of the Great Recession.
The Fed's new policy statement, to be released at 2 p.m. EDT, and a press conference by Chairman Powell at 2:30 p.m. should provide additional clues about whether there will be further rate cuts, marking the beginning of a full-blown rate-cutting cycle.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on the Fed to make a large interest rate cut, saying it had put him at a disadvantage by not acting sooner.
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