Gold higher for sixth trading day ahead of Fed announcement

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange advanced a little more on Wednesday as traders wait for the U.S. central bank's announcement.

The most active gold contract for August delivery rose 0.20 U.S. dollars, or 0.02 percent, to settle at 1,288.30 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is set to hold their scheduled Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) press conference after the market's close on Wednesday. Traders believe that the Fed will delay the June interest rate increase. The minutes led traders to believe that the Fed may raise rates from 0.50 to 0.75 during the June FOMC meeting. According to the CME Group's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to 0.75 is at 2 percent for the June meeting.

After the market closed, U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday it will keep federal fund rate unchanged, and gold futures continued to advance in electronic trading.

The U.S. dollar also gave support to the precious metal as the U.S. Dollar Index fell on Wednesday. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.

Investors are waiting for the release of the consumer price index, jobless claims, and Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey on Thursday, and housing starts on Friday.

Silver for July delivery rose 7.90 cents, or 0.45 percent, to close at 17.503 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery gained 2.90 dollars, or 0.30 percent, to close at 974.80 dollars per ounce. Endit