Gold held gains in Asia on Wednesday with investors keyed to Federal Reserve remarks ahead. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile, On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery rose 0.15% to $1,231.50 a troy ounce. Silver futures for May delivery eased 0.04% to $15.110 a troy ounce, while copper futures for May delivery rose 0.19% to $2.148 a pound. In China, the Caixin services PMI for March came in at 52.2, compared with an expected level of 51.4, up from a 51.2 final in February. Investors also await a wave of public comments from key Federal Reserve policymakers, including Yellen on Thursday, for further signals on the pace of the Fed's current tightening cycle. Overnight, gold surged as much as $20 an ounce on Tuesday, bouncing off 5-week lows from the previous session, as broad indications of slowing economic growth in the U.S. and around the world sent investors scurrying for shelter in the safe-haven asset. Since hitting 13-month highs above $1,280 in mid-March, gold has retreated more than 3% over the last several weeks amid extreme dovish signals from Federal Reserve president Janet Yellen that the U.S. central bank will remain patient with the timing of its next interest rate hike. It followed a two month rally when the precious metal surged nearly 15%, ending the first quarter with its strongest period in three decades. Citing low inflation, weak growth opportunities, a lack of new jobs and high debt burdens, International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde said Tuesday that she believes the global economic outlook has darkened over the last six months. While delivering an address at the Goethe Institute in Frankfurt, Lagarde also criticized top political leaders throughout the world for not enacting stronger fiscal measures to help stave off a potential recession. "There is always a good reason not to act. But that would be precisely the wrong move," Lagarde said in an interview with Bloomberg. "The growth momentum is weak, risks are probably on the rise, and confidence is sorely lacking." Separately, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta lowered its first quarter U.S. GDP growth estimate to 0.4%, from previous forecasts of 0.7% last week. In explaining the downward revision, the Atlanta Fed cited soft vehicle sales in a report issued on Monday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, as well as declines in real consumer spending growth and real equipment investment growth.
