Gold was little changed on Wednesday, after the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting as investors look for clues on the outlook for U.S. interest rates.
In the minutes released on Wednesday, Federal Reserve officials appear to be in sync on how they plan to unravel the mammoth stimulus implemented during the financial crisis.
Spot gold was up 0.33 percent at $1,254.94 an ounce. U.S. gold futures for June delivery were down $2.40 to settle at $1,253.10.
Just prior to the release of the minutes, at 1:55 pm ET, spot gold was up 0.23 percent at $1,253.26 little changed from $1,250.76 late on Tuesday, when it slipped 0.7 percent after two days of gains.
The metal is highly sensitive to rising U.S. rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced.
Interest rate futures on Tuesday implied traders saw about an 83 percent chance of a rate increase in June, up from 79 percent on Monday.
Expectations for U.S. interest rates to rise next month and potentially again later in the year have been a major factor keeping gold prices pinned below chart resistance at $1,300 an ounce this year, however.
Gold has risen 3 percent since hitting a near-two-month low of $1,213.81 on May 9, driven chiefly by political turmoil in the United States after President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey, which prompted a drop in stock markets and put the dollar under pressure.
"While the selling appetite seems to be fading following four weeks of long liquidation, (gold) still needs a catalyst to break higher," said Hansen.
"At this
World stock markets eased on Wednesday after China's sovereign credit rating was downgraded and as investors eyed a pause in Wall Street's four-day winning streak, the longest in over three months.
Among other precious metals, gained 0.70 percent to $17.15 an ounce, while was 0.73 percent higher at $946.90 an ounce.
Both were correcting after hitting their highest since late April in the previous session.
was down 0.69 percent at $765.20 an ounce.