2019.03.1915:57:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Higher

Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, as the dollar stayed weak on expectations that the Federal Reserve, scheduled to release its monetary policy on Wednesday, would continue to maintain a dovish policy stance.

The Fed is widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged tomorrow and it is being speculated that the central bank will scale back their projection of rate hikes this year from two to one or perhaps even none, due to growing risks from slowing growth and trade conflicts.

The Federal Bank Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at a news conference tomorrow afternoon will provide directional clues for global markets.

The dollar index dropped to a low of 96.29 and was last seen hovering around 96.35, down nearly 0.2% from previous close.

Gold futures for April settled up $5.00, or 0.4%, at $1,306.50 an ounce.

On Monday, gold futures for April ended down $1.40, or 0.1%, at $1,301.50 an ounce, around $5.00 off the day's high.

Silver futures for May ended up $0.050, at $15.372 an ounce, while Copper futures for May $0.0140, at $2.9230 per pound.

In economic news today, a report from the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods edged only slightly higher in the month of January, due to a drop in orders for non-durable goods.

The report said factory orders inched up by 0.1% in January, matching the 0.1% uptick in December. Economists had expected orders to rise by 0.3%.

The modest increase in factory orders came as durable goods orders rose by 0.3% in January after jumping by 1.3% in December.

Orders for non-durable goods dipped by 0.2% in January after tumbling by 1.1% in December.

The report also showed factory orders fell by 0.2% when excluding the spike in orders for transportation equipment.

Shipments of manufactured goods also dropped by 0.4% in January after slipping by 0.2% in the previous month.