Gold looks cautious ahead of FOMC minutes

Gold prices are slightly lower while silver is a bit higher in subdued early US trading on Wednesday. The market looks quieter ahead of the US data point of the week, namely the FOMC minutes released at 2:00 p.m. EST. December gold was last down $2.80 at $1,737.20 and December silver was up $0.131 at $21.18, but at the time of writing, it is trading at $1742.19.

Today is the busiest day for US economic data this holiday-shortened trading week, including the minutes from the last FOMC monetary policy meeting, to be released in the early afternoon. The minutes may contain a few new clues on the future path and timing of Fed monetary policy. US markets are closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Most global stock markets were slightly up overnight. US stock indexes are headed for slightly higher openings when the New York day session begins. The marketplace remains tentative at mid-week as Covid-19 cases in China continue to rise and are crimping the world’s second-largest economy. Newswire reports this morning quoted Chinese officials as saying they will further ease China’s monetary policies in an effort to produce more economic growth.

The Eurozone reported its November manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) at 47.3, which was slightly above market expectations and compares to the October reading of 46.4. Still, a reading below 50.0 suggests contraction in the sector. It was the fifth month in a row of manufacturing sector contraction for the Eurozone.