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Thursday March 28, 2024

Gold steadies

By our correspondents
February 24, 2017

Bengaluru

Gold prices held steady on Thursday as the U.S. dollar firmed following overnight losses after the release of minutes from the last U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, which suggested a cautious approach to interest rate hikes.

Spot gold had crept down 0.1 percent to $1,236.30 per ounce at 0109 GMT, while U.S. gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $1,237.6. Many Fed policymakers said it may be appropriate to raise interest rates again "fairly soon" should jobs and inflation data come in line with expectations, according to the minutes of the Fed´s last policy meeting.

The minutes of the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 discussion also showed the depth of uncertainty at the Fed over the lack of clarity on the new Trump administration´s economic programme.

Asian stocks pulled back from a 19-month high on Thursday, while the dollar tried to steady from losses suffered in the wake of the Fed minutes.