Gold pared gains Thursday from a two-week high, clinging to short-covering gains despite the US dollar's recovery after a more cautious than expected interest rate statement from the US Federal Reserve. Spot gold hit a peak of $1,177.46 an ounce earlier in the session as the dollar tumbled after the US Federal Reserve signalled a slower pace of interest rate hikes and gave a cautious outlook for the US economy.
Gold pulled back as the dollar rose from an early low to rise against a currency basket. The currency extended gains after jobless data indicated the American labour market remained on a solid footing despite slowing economic growth.
"A higher US dollar will be a major negative driver for precious metals going forward," ABN Amro analyst Georgette Boele said.
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,169.26 an ounce at 2:49 pm EST (1849 GMT) and US gold futures for April delivery closed up $17.70 an ounce at $1,169.00 despite the greenback's recovery.
"The market had gotten pretty short in the run-up to the Fed statements," said HSBC analyst James Steel.
Silver was up 1.2 percent at $16.09 an ounce after touching a two-week high of $16.18, while spot platinum was up 0.3 percent at $1,117.50 an ounce and spot palladium was down 2.1 percent at $764 an ounce.
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