07.12.202218:12:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle Notably Higher

Gold futures settled higher on Wednesday, gaining for a second straight session, with the dollar drifting lower as traders looked ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement, due next week.

The dollar index fell to 104.88, and despite recovering to around 105.00, was down 0.5% from the previous close.

Gold futures for February ended higher by $15.60 or about 0.9% at $1,798.00 an ounce.

Silver futures for March ended up $0.587 at $22.922 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled at $3.8605 per pound, up $0.0425 from the previous close.

Data released by the Labor Department showed unit labor costs jumped by much less than previously estimated in the third quarter.

The report showed the surge in unit labor costs in the third quarter was downwardly revised to 2.4% from 3.5%. The jump in unit labor costs was expected to be downwardly revised to 3.2%.

The downward revision to unit labor cost growth reflected an upward revision to labor productivity as well as a downward revision to the spike in hourly compensation.