Gold fell to its lowest in almost two weeks on Tuesday ahead of a Federal Reserve statement that is expected to give clues on the pace of future US rate rises. Spot gold fell to $1,225.70 an ounce, its lowest since March 2, at one point and was down 0.4 percent at $1,230.31 by 2:37 pm EDT (1837 GMT). US gold futures for April delivery settled down 1.1 percent at $1,231 an ounce.
Worries about global growth and financial instability had led investors to reprice prospects for increases in US rates, sending safe-haven gold to a 13-month high last week. But solid US data readings more recently have rekindled market expectations of further tightening this year.
The Fed began its two-day meeting on Tuesday and the market was awaiting a statement from the central bank at 2 pm EDT on Wednesday.
"One difference from a few weeks ago is that the surprise (from the Fed) would be a rate hike, whereas perhaps a few weeks ago people thought a surprise would be a rate cut," Macquarie analyst Matthew Turner said.
Spot silver fell 0.4 percent to $15.25 an ounce, platinum was up 0.5 percent at $956.30 and palladium was down 0.1 percent at $566.75.