Gold marginally down ahead of Fed meeting minutes

Gold prices made a marginal drop at settlement today, Feb. 22, as markets around the world continued to look for more monetary policy clues.

Traders are awaiting the release of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting minutes, which is scheduled for later in the day, to monitor the view of the central bank members on the prospects for future policy tightening.

Goldman Sachs and Bank of America (BofA) said they project the Fed to raise interest rates three more times this year, lifting their estimates after recent data indicated persistent inflation and a resilient labor market.

Markets had been predicting two more quarter-point rate top-ups in March and May. But the latest forecasts suggest the central bank is likely to decide on a third increase at its June meeting, before leveling off.

Upon settlement today, gold for April delivery shed less then 0.1%, or $1, to $1,841.50 an ounce.

On the other hand, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, inched up 0.1% to 104,320 points at 9:41 pm Makkah ime.