Spot gold pared earlier losses on Wednesday after the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed the central bank struggled over how to convey to investors how fast it will raise short-term interest rates once it increases them from record lows.
The Fed held a previously unannounced March 4 videoconference to debate the issue in advance of its regular March 18-19 meeting.
Spot gold was last at $1,312 an ounce, up 0.3 percent and off an earlier high of $1,314 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled $3.20 lower at $1,305.50 an ounce ahead of the Fed announcement,
Worries over Ukraine, as well as technical momentum after a break above $1,300, helped lift gold nearly 1 percent on Tuesday, but uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy and weak physical and investment appetite curbed that rally.