Gold steady above $1,290 ahead of Fed

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold clung to overnight gains to trade just above $1,290 an ounce on Wednesday, with focus turning to whether a weaker global economy may curb the Federal Reserve's enthusiasm to raise interest rates.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,293.30 an ounce by 0041 GMT after rising nearly 1 percent on Tuesday.

U.S. gold for February delivery was also steady at $1,292.80 an ounce.

The Federal Open Market Committee releases a statement at the end of its two-day policy meeting later in the day. Analysts say some disappointing corporate earnings and an unexpected drop in U.S. durable goods orders in December could push back expectations for a rate hike largely seen happening by mid-year.

U.S. business investment spending fell for a fourth straight month in December, a sign that slowing global growth may be weighing on the economy. China's gold imports from Hong Kong fell nearly a third in 2014 as the top consumer's appetite waned after record purchases in the previous year.

Gold faces a third year of losses in 2015 as the United States prepares for its first interest rate rise in nearly a decade, but the market should also find a floor, clearing the way for a recovery next year, a Reuters poll showed. Any hike in rates could lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while boosting the dollar.

The survey of 38 analysts and traders forecast that spot gold, which ended 2014 little changed after snapping a 12-year bull run the previous year, will average $1,234 an ounce this year, down around 3 percent.

Palladium is poised to outperform again in 2015, with prices seen rising 6 percent even as the wider precious metals complex struggles, a separate Reuters survey showed.

(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Joseph Radford)