Gold falls slightly to settle at $1,808; copper hits 2011 low

The upcoming U.S. meeting kept a lid on other markets, while floor traders at the LME said that business was slim due to the uncertain economic outlook.

“People are too nervous to play at the moment,” said one trader. “Our customers have all de-risked and now they’re sitting on piles of cash—but they don’t know what to do with it.”

World stocks drifted lower on Wednesday and the euro also slipped ahead of the Federal Reserve’s closely watched policy meeting. The Fed is expected to announce plans to rebalance its portfolio in favor of longer-dated bonds and so push long-term interest rates—already near historic lows—even lower in a move known as “Operation Twist.”

A meeting of the G20 is also under way this week and will end with a statement on Friday.

In fundamentals news, China data for metals trade showed a 21 percent jump in copper imports on the month in August, although they were still down by nearly 12 percent from the same month a year ago. China’s imports of refined copper reached their highest level since January as improved arbitrage spurred spot buying from the world’s top consumer of the metal.

“If anything it says that the Chinese are happy to buy copper at the right price but not happy to chase price higher,” added Westgate

Source Reuters

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