Gold held in a fairly tight steadier range on Wednesday, as a two-day US Federal Reserve meeting started that will offer signals on the course of interest rates and determine the metal's direction.
"Generally we are ranging fairly comfortably after what happened yesterday," a trader said.
Gold hit a two-week high of $595.60 an ounce on Tuesday before reversing course and ending lower as players squared off positions before the June 28-29 meeting.
"Gold as well as the other metals in the precious complex seem comfortable in their current ranges, with fluctuations in the dollar and energy markets providing much of the intra-day direction ahead of this week's Fed rate decision and month/quarter/half-year end," James Moore of TheBullionDesk.com said.
Spot gold stood at $583.40/584.10 an ounce at 1355 GMT from $581.50/582.50 late in New York, having ranged between $579 and $587.00.
"Nobody will take positions in the next two days. The physical market will be quiet," said Ronald Leung, director of Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.
The Fed was widely seen lifting overnight rates for a 17th straight time on Thursday to 5.25 percent from 5 percent.
"(Gold) lacks direction. Trading is in a big range and the market needs to find its path. I am not sure which way it will go, but I don't think we will re-challenge recent peaks any time soon," a European trader said.
The market was also looking beyond this week's Fed meeting to try to gauge from statements whether the US central bank planned further interest rate increases after this week.
Higher US interest rates support the dollar and may diminish gold's allure as an alternative investment.
"A 25-point move will not do much for precious metals. If rates go up by 50 points it would cause some excitement, but the policy seems to be small, incremental steps and we don't expect anything else this time," the European trader added.
Technically, gold's performance on Tuesday was negative, with the market stumbling in the mid-$590s, close to where moving average (MA) targets were located.
"I am a bit negative about the market because of yesterday's close in New York. The market made a U-turn and I think it's still possible for the price to go down to $570," said a dealer in Singapore.
Gold set a 26-year high of $730 on May 12 but had largely been on a downhill track ever since.
"Resistance at $600, which coincides with the 100-day moving average, is likely to provide some stiff resistance in the interim as the market continues to hold in consolidation in a trading range of $550-$600," Standard Bank said in a report.
In other precious metals, silver, which had mirrored gold's moves on Tuesday, was at $10.28/10.38 an ounce from $10.23/10.33.
"The 200-day MA at $9.90 should provide support further below the market, and resistance above at around $10.50 seems firm, without direction coming from the dollar or from gold," Julia Hamblett of Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said.
Platinum dropped to $1,186/1,192 an ounce from $1,190/1,196 late in New York. Palladium fell to $309/314 an ounce from $314/318.
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