Investors were also keeping a close eye on talks to end a trade dispute between China and the United States.
Spot gold had inched up by 0.1 percent to $1,339.88 per ounce as of 0529 GMT, having touched $1,346.73 per ounce in the previous session, its highest level since April 19.
U.S. gold futures were down 0.4 percent at $1,342.8 an ounce.
· “There are both technical and fundamental reasons for this pull back in gold prices. It is under some technical selling pressure at the moment,” said Margaret Yang, market analyst with CMC Markets, Singapore.
“It was a clearly dovish statement by the Fed,” she said adding that the dollar rebounded after the minutes and gold traders are now taking profits.
· The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was steady at 96.518.
The Fed, in the minutes of its latest meeting in January, said the U.S. economy and its labour market remained strong, prompting some expectations of at least one more interest rate hike this year.
· Spot gold may retrace into a range of $1,321-$1,331 per ounce and could have peaked around resistance at $1,351 per ounce, according to Reuters analyst Wang Tao.
· Markets were still on the lookout for signs of progress in the latest round of trade negotiations between the United States and China, amid expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping next month to strike a deal.
Trump said on Tuesday that trade negotiations were going well and suggested he was open to pushing off the March 1 deadline to complete negotiations.
· “After finding major support at the $1,300 per ounce mark, (gold) prices have witnessed an upthrust, and moved past the invincible $1,326 per ounce mark,” said Sugandha Sachdeva, vice-president, metals, energy and currency research, Religare Broking Ltd.
“This has set the path for gold to traverse on the upwards trajectory towards $1,365 per ounce in the near-term.”
· Among other precious metals, palladium rose 0.1 percent to $1,490.00 per ounce. The autocatalyst metal had surpassed the crucial $1,500 psychological level the previous session on market supply woes.
Spot platinum dipped 0.2 percent to $821 an ounce, while silver was down 0.1 percent at $16.01.
Reference: Kitco,CNBC
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