Los Angeles CA, August 16 (Tangible Investments) — by James O’Dell — Precious metals prices rebounded in early trading on Wednesday as Gold turns higher ahead of FOMC minutes. Gold is up 0.18 percent to $1,273.40 an ounce after sliding $10.50 on Tuesday to close at $1,271.10 an ounce.

Silver is up 1.47 percent to $16.86 an ounce after tumbling $0.44 on Tuesday to close at $16.62 an ounce. The Gold/Silver ratio rose to 76.48. Platinum is up 0.83 percent to $968.00 an ounce. Palladium is up 2.28 percent to $898.00 an ounce.

Gold edged higher in early trading on Wednesday ahead of the release of minutes from the July Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Investors will be looking for clues as to whether the Fed will hike rates one more time this year.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said that she wants gradual interest rate hikes, and benign inflation may allow that. The Fed may have to change its tune on the strength and resilience of the housing market driving the economy.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that U.S. housing starts fell 4.8-percent in July and building permits were down 4.1-percent. Economists are becoming increasingly alarmed that this sector could become a drag on the economy.

The yellow metal eased to start the week after tensions between the U.S. and North Korea cooled over the weekend. Things could heat up again next week, however, when the U.S. and South Korea hold joint military exercises near the demilitarized-zone.

Underlying Strength Remains

Meanwhile, Alex Thorndike, of MKS, still sees underlying strength in the marketplace as Gold remains above pre-rhetoric levels. “We suspect a reasonable amount of short term length has been relinquished over the past 24 hours, which given the general improvement in mid-term sentiment, may bode well for a test of $1300 in the near term,” says Thorndike.

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