FX.co ★ Gold Holds Steady With Focus On Fed Minutes

Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as investors awaited the release of minutes of the meeting of the U.S Federal Reserve later in the day for additional clues on the rate outlook.

Spot gold was marginally lower at $1,834.58 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures traded flat with a positive bias at $1,843.15.

The U.S. central bank raised rates by 25 basis points (bps) at its Jan. 31-Feb. 1 meeting.

Following hawkish rhetoric from several Fed officials in recent days, investors are pricing in the federal funds rate climbing to around 5.3 percent in June.

Strong business activity data released on Tuesday, following recent robust data on retail sales, the labor market and manufacturing production led investors to anticipate higher rates for longer,

The dollar hovered near a six-week high in early European trade while U.S. Treasury yields pulled back slightly after jumping to new multi-year highs on Tuesday.