Gold futures slip lower ahead of Fed meeting

Gold futures slipped lower on Tuesday, as the U.S. dollar gained ground ahead of the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy meeting, amid growing uncertainty over the future of the central bank's monetary stimulus program.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,325.55 a troy ounce during European morning hours, sliding 0.32%. 

The December contract settled up 0.58%, at USD1,329.6 a troy ounce on Monday.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,308.75 a troy ounce, the low from July 25 and resistance at USD1,340.15, the high from July 26.

Gold prices slipped after data on Monday showing that pending home sales fell less-than-expected in June added to expectations for a near-term end to the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program. 

Industry data showed that U.S. pending home sales fell 0.4% in last month, retreating from a more than six-year high, although the U.S. labour market has shown signs of strength in recent weeks. 

Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its quantitative easing program sooner-than-expected.

An exit from the stimulus would deal a heavy blow to gold, which has thrived on demand from investors who buy gold to hedge against the inflationary risks of loose monetary policies. 

Traders were looking ahead to data on the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Composite-20 house price index, followed by the Conference Board's report on consumer confidence, later in the trading day.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery fell 0.71% to trade at USD19.723 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery slid 0.75% to trade at USD3.084 a pound.