Investing.com - Gold and silver prices moved higher on Wednesday, as market players looked ahead to a congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery traded at $1,311.20 an ounce during U.S. morning hours, up 0.2%, or $2.60.
Gold held in a tight range between $1,307.10 a troy ounce and $1,314.70 an ounce. Futures dipped 0.05%, or 70 cents on Tuesday to settle at $1,308.60.
Gold prices were likely to find support at $1,272.00 an ounce, the low from May 2 and resistance at $1,326.90, the high from April 15.
Meanwhile, silver for July delivery inched up 0.24%, or 4.8 cents, to trade at $19.69 a troy ounce. Silver ended Tuesday’s session up 0.38%, or 7.4 cents, to settle at $19.64 an ounce.
Silver was likely to find support at $19.48 an ounce, the low from May 5 and resistance at $19.78, the high from April 28.
Fed chief Janet Yellen was expected to reiterate that the central bank intends to keep rates on hold for longer, in spite of last month’s stronger-than-forecast U.S. nonfarm payrolls report in her congressional testimony later in the session.
Meanwhile, investors continued to monitor events in Ukraine, as conflict between the government and pro-Russian separatists continued to escalate, stoking fears that the crisis will develop and drag the U.S. deeper into the standoff.
The West is accusing Russia of leading a separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine after it annexed Crimea last month.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for July delivery shed 0.71%, or 2.2 cents, to trade at $3.035 a pound.
Data released earlier showed that China’s HSBC Services Purchasing Managers Index ticked down to 51.4 in April from 51.9 in March, underlining concerns that an economic slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy is deepening.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.