Gold Prices Slip and Remain Below $1,500 Level; All Eyes on ECB

Investing.com - Gold prices slipped on Wednesday in Asia and remained below the $1,500 level as traders awaited the upcoming European Central Bank (ECB) monthly meeting. Gold Futures for December delivery slipped 0.1% to $1,498.35 per ounce by 12:42 AM ET (04:42 GMT) on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.The outcome of the ECB’s monthly meeting is expected to have an impact on gold prices later this week, as some expect a rate reduction from the central bank as part of a broader package to stimulate the eurozone economy. “The ECB is expected to reduce further the interest rate into negative territory… The meeting could serve as a potential catalyst (for gold) and investors are already buying into the rate cut expectations,” said Margaret Yang Yan, a market analyst at CMC Markets, in a Reuters report. Meanwhile, Sino-U.S. trade tension eased somewhat after China reportedly offered to buy more U.S. agricultural products in exchange for a delay in tariffs. It also asked for easing of a supply ban against Huawei. Meanwhile, Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the state-owned Global Times newspaper, said today that China will introduce “important measures” to deal with the negative impact brought by the trade war. "The measures will benefit some companies from both China and the U.S.," he said on Twitter without further elaborating.