Gold rises slightly as traders wait on ECB

              Gold futures traded modestly higher during Tuesday’s Asian session as traders eye the European Central Bank meeting later Tuesday.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery rose 0.14% to USD1,316.50 per troy ounce in Asian trading Tuesday. The December contract settled higher by 0.11% at USD1,314.70 per troy ounce on Monday.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,305.80 a troy ounce, Friday's low, and resistance at USD1,361.70, last Monday's high.

A recent batch of concerning economic data out of the euro zone has some traders betting the ECB will lower interest rates in an effort to stimulate growth. Recent unemployment data for the region touched a record high.

On Monday, euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked up to 51.3 in October from a final reading of 51.1 in September, unchanged from a preliminary estimate and in line with market forecasts, according to London-based Markit Economics.

Germany’s manufacturing PMI rose to 51.7 last month from 51.5 in September as new orders and production levels rose. Analysts were expecting the figure to remain unchanged at 51.5.

In U.S. economic news out Monday, U.S. factory orders rose 1.7% in October from September, in line with expectations.

Gold traders are also bracing for the October jobs report out of the U.S., which is scheduled to be revealed Friday. An upside surprise with that number could further stoke speculation the Federal Reserve will move to taper its quantitative easing program sometime in the next several months.

Elsewhere, Comex silver for December delivery rose 0.06% to USD21.712 per ounce while copper for December delivery gained 0.13% to USD3.263 per ounce. -
Investing.com