By Jan Harvey
LONDON (Reuters) – Gold rose on Wednesday ahead of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, snapping three days of losses, as expectations that U.S. interest rates will stay lower for longer sharpened appetite for the metal.
Gains were limited, however, as stock markets rallied, with rising equities on both sides of the Atlantic pointing to a retreat in the risk aversion that drove gold prices to one-year highs last week.
Spot gold was at $1,210.57 an ounce at 1445 GMT, up 0.9 percent, while U.S. gold futures for April delivery were up 0.2 percent at $1,210.80.
Gold peaked at $1,260.60 an ounce last week and has rallied nearly 14 percent since the start of the year, driven largely by expectations that wider market volatility will lead the Federal Reserve to take a cautious attitude to further rate hikes.
“The Fed rate hike most likely won’t happen in March, and that for me is the most important driver behind the price of gold,” Natixis analyst Bernard Dahdah said.
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