Spot gold was last bid around $1,159.80 an ounce, against $1,159.65 late in New York on Tuesday.

 

Prices fell nearly 2 percent on Tuesday as selling of commodities in the wake of weak U.S. consumer confidence data pushed the metal through key technical support levels. "For now, the metal looks very bearish technically and to be honest, all these moves since yesterday are heavily technically driven," said Standard Bank analyst Walter de Wet. "I think it is going to fall more, but longer term, we still see the bull market intact. Underlying, the same issues that have pushed gold higher still remain," he added.

 

Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briesemann said despite the metal's slight recovery this morning, diversification into other assets, seasonal demand weakness and a tendency towards liquidation of long positions are all still pressuring prices. "We see money shifting away from safe haven assets like gold to riskier assets like equities and oil," Briesemann said.