Copper prices ended lower at Comex on Wednesday, 19 June 2019. Prices ended lower despite a weak dollar.

July copper slipped by 2.3 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.681 a pound, after a 2.1% gain the day before.

The dollar index lost 0.4% on Wednesday.

The Fed said it will “closely monitor” the economy given increasing uncertainty about government policy though it signaled it may not need to lower rates before 2020. The central bank remained mostly optimistic about the economic outlook, but said inflationary pressures have receded, compelling it to lower its forecast for PCE inflation in 2019 to 1.5% from 1.8%, below its 2% target. At the same time, it left its gross domestic product estimate at 2.1%.

After the Fed news, yields for benchmark debt were moving lower, with the yield for the 10-year Treasury note at 2.05%, which can make government debt less appealing to buyers seeking haven assets compared against bullion.

The weekly MBA Mortgage Applications, which was Wednesday's lone economic report, declined 3.4% following a 26.8% surge in the prior week.

Looking ahead, investors will receive the following reports on Thursday: weekly Initial and Continuing Claims, the Current Account Balance for the first quarter, the Philadelphia Fed Index for June, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for May.