• Gold prices have fallen, extending losses after the Federal Reserve released minutes of its December policy meeting, which fed the view among investors that more US interest rate rises are in store.
• In early trading, gold hit a three-and-a-half-month high. But a firmer US dollar encouraged selling, putting the precious metal on track for its first day of losses in nearly three weeks. Though the Fed's meeting minutes showed some disagreement between policy hawks and doves, "the tax cuts were seen as very beneficial for economy. A higher GDP and higher consumer spending would boost the possibility for more rate hikes, which would put pressure on gold," said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist for RJO Futures in Chicago.
• Gold, which as a non-yielding asset is highly sensitive to rising interest rates, fell in the run-up to the third US interest rate rise of 2017 in December. But then it climbed 5 per cent from its mid-month low to the year's close.
• Spot gold was down 0.7 per cent at $US1,309.35 an ounce by 2.29 pm EDT (0629 Thursday AEDT), off its session high of $US1,321.33. US gold futures for February delivery settled up $US2.40, or 0.2 per cent, at $US1,318.50 per ounce.
• Spot gold's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) touched 75 on Tuesday, it highest since September 2017. An RSI above 70 indicates a commodity is overbought and could herald a price correction, technical analysts said.
• The dollar rebounded after upbeat US manufacturing and construction data, snapping a three-week losing streak.
• US stocks rose, with the benchmark SP 500 index surging past the 2,700-mark for the first time. Other major indexes hit record intraday highs.
• Among other precious metals, palladium was down 0.7 per cent at $US1,084 an ounce after hitting a record high on Tuesday of $US1,096.50.
Spot silver was down 0.7 per cent at $US17.06 an ounce after earlier touching a six-week high of $US17.24. Platinum was 0.6 per cent higher at $US949 an ounce, after touching $US960.70, its highest level since September 19.
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