© Reuters.

Investing.com– Gold prices fell slightly in Asian trade on Tuesday, but remained above key support levels as markets remained largely averse towards precious metals before a key Federal Reserve meeting this week.

Among industrial metals, copper prices inched lower, but remained in sight of 11-month highs after a stellar rally over the past three sessions.

Bullion prices recovered some lost ground this week, retaking the $2,150 an ounce support level on Monday as uncertainty over the Fed’s stance persisted. But the yellow metal also remained well below record highs hit earlier in March.

fell 0.1% to $2,158.26 an ounce, while expiring in April fell 0.1% to $2,161.35 an ounce by 01:30 ET (05:30 GMT). 

Dollar strong ahead of Fed meeting, pressures gold 

Strength in the dollar was a key weight on gold prices, as anticipation of the Fed meeting and dovish signals from the Bank of Japan kept traders largely biased towards the greenback. 

The rose to a two-week high on Tuesday after clocking strong gains over the past two sessions.

The Fed is widely expected to at the conclusion of a two-day meeting on Wednesday. But markets feared any potentially hawkish signals from the central bank, particularly a dialing down in its interest rate cut forecasts, following hotter-than-expected inflation data for the past two months.

Higher-for-longer rates bode poorly for gold and other precious metals, given that high rates push up the opportunity cost of investing in the sector. 

fell 0.7% to $913.15 an ounce, while fell 0.3% to $25.192 an ounce. 

Copper prices edge lower, but remain close to recent peaks

on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.5% to $9,046.0 a ton, while fell 0.6% to $4.1052 a pound. 

But the two instruments remained in sight of 11-month peaks hit on Monday, as the prospect of a deficit in Chinese refined copper supplies triggered a sharp melt-up in copper prices. 

The copper rally was further boosted by stronger-than-expected data from China, which is the world’s largest copper importer.