WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures failed to hold early gains and settled lower on Wednesday, as risk appetite increased a bit after the Federal Reserve's surprise move to cut interest rate by 50 basis points.
Speculation is rife that the European Central Bank will respond to the Fed's 'decisive' interest rate cut with easing of its own.
The dollar's rebound weighed on the yellow metal. The dollar index rose to 97.59 around mid morning, but later eased to 97.35, but was still up in positive territory, gaining about 0.2%.
Gold futures for April ended down $1.40, or about 0.1%, at $1,643.00 an ounce, after rising to a high of $1,654.30 earlier in the session.
On Tuesday, gold futures for April ended up $49.60, or 3.1%, at $1,644.40 an ounce.
Silver futures for May ended up $0.058 at $17.246 an ounce, while Copper futures for May settled at $2.5860 per pound, gaining $0.0130.
In economic news, private sector employment in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of February, according to a report released by payroll processor ADP on Wednesday.
ADP said private sector employment climbed by 183,000 jobs in February after jumping by a downwardly revised 209,000 jobs in January.
Economists had expected employment to rise by about 170,000 jobs compared to the spike of 291,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.
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