Gold prices edged lower during European morning hours on Wednesday, pulling further away from its strongest level in a month as investors braced for formal Brexit procedures to be triggered by the U.K. government later in the day.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty later on Wednesday, formally beginning the two-year process of exiting the European Union.
May will send a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk on Wednesday formally announcing Britain’s withdrawal from the bloc.
The correspondence will start the clock ticking on a two-year countdown to Brexit and allow negotiations to start between London and Brussels in the coming weeks.
Gold hit its strongest since February 27 at $1,261.00 on Monday.
Market players also awaited comments from a number of Federal Reserve policymakers later in the session for more clues on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and San Francisco Fed President John Williams are all scheduled to speak throughout the day.
The yellow metal ended Tuesday’s session little changed, despite upbeat economic data and rate hike chatter from a number of Fed officials.
U.S. consumer confidence index hit 125.6 in March, according to the Conference Board, the highest since December 2000. The figure blew past expectations for a reading of 114 and came in much higher than 116.1 in February.
Source: UK Investing.com
