Gold falls as Fed disappoints with muted policy response to slowdown

Gold prices fell in Asian trading on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said it would remain on standby to stimulate the economy with monetary easing tools.
Stronger-than-expected jobs data in the U.S. further weakened the metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for October delivery were down 0.23% and trading at USD1,601.45 a troy ounce, up from a session low of USD1,600.55 and down from a high of USD1,603.55 a troy ounce early during the session.
Gold futures were likely to test support at USD1,593.45 a troy ounce, the low from Aug. 1, and resistance at USD1,609.45, the high from July 25.
The Federal Reserve earlier said it would keep an eye on a cooling U.S. economy though it stopped short of committing to monetary easing measures, which weaken the dollar to spur growth and send gold climbing in the process.
"The Committee will closely monitor incoming information on economic and financial developments and will provide additional accommodation as needed to promote a stronger economic recovery and sustained improvement in labor market conditions in a context of price stability," the Fed's Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement.
Gold and the dollar trade inversely from one another, and talk that Fed intervention remains on hold sent the yellow metal extending earlier losses into Asian trading on Thursday.
Surprisingly strong data on U.S. private sector employment further pushed gold down.
U.S. payroll processor ADP reported earlier that the private-sector increased headcount by a seasonally adjusted 163,000 in July, beating expectations for an increase of 120,000.
June’s figure was revised down to 172,000, slightly lower that the initial estimate of 176,000.
The ADP figure serves as a weather vane for the official number, which will publish on Friday.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery was down 0.59% and trading at USD27.372 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery was up 0.37% and trading at USD3.371 a pound.