Gold slips

Reuters

Bengaluru : Gold prices fell further on Wednesday and hit a one-week low as the dollar steadied after a recovery from last week´s three-year low, while investors awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve´s last policy meeting for clues on the pace of interest rate hikes this year.

Spot gold had slipped by 0.2 percent to $1,326.37 an ounce by 0353 GMT and was down for a fourth straight session.

Earlier in the day, prices touched the lowest since Feb. 14 at $1,325.31 an ounce. U.S. gold futures were down 0.2 percent at $1,328.5 per ounce. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.1 percent at 89.828, after hitting a one-week high of 89.857. It hit a three-year low of 88.253 on Feb. 16. "Gold is tracking the movement in dollar. The absence of Chinese buyers from the market is further pressurising the yellow metal´s prices," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong. 