A molded catalyst body that contains in a reduced state a metal of the ferrous group and/or copper on a support and is characterized by the following features:(a) Metal content: about 5 to about 40 weight percent, based on the total weight of the catalyst;(b) Metal-crystal size: .ltoreq.3 nm;(c) Volume of the pores with a diameter of 7.5 nm to 15 .mu.m: 0.05 to 0.9 ml/g catalyst;(d) BET surface area: 80-400 m.sup.2 /g catalyst;(e) Fracture strength: >30N (based on cylindrical molded body with a diameter of 1.5 mm and a length of 5 mm);(f) Bulk density: 250-350 g/l.