FX.co ★ Gold Prices Mixed As Dollar Consolidates

Gold prices were mixed on Thursday as the dollar consolidated within a tight range after the release of FOMC meeting minutes.

The minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed a broad consensus among the central bank officials to continue raising rates to bring inflation down to their 2 percent target.

Spot gold was marginally higher at $1,826.39 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 0.4 percent at $1,833.85.

There are signs inflation is coming down, but not enough to counter the need for more rate rises, the FOMC meeting minutes showed.

The Fed's next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for March 21-22, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 79.0 percent chance of another 25-basis point rate hike and a 21.0 percent chance of a 50-basis point rate hike.

With a tight labor market contributing to continuing upward pressures on wages and prices, trading later in the day may be impacted by reaction to the weekly jobless claims report. GDP data for the fourth quarter is also due.

Consumer inflation in the eurozone grew at a slightly faster pace than initially estimated in January, but the annual inflation continued its downward trend, according to data from the European Union's statistics agency Eurostat released earlier today.