Gold prices fell on Thursday as investors booked profits after a more than 1.5 percent rise in the previous session, opting for riskier assets like equities as the US Federal Reserve stood pat on interest rates. The US central bank, however, strongly signalled it could still tighten monetary policy by year-end as the labour market improved further. Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,332.70 an ounce by 0632 GMT, while US gold futures rose 0.4 percent to $1,337.30 an ounce.
"People are expecting that the Fed is going to raise rates for sure in December. So, they have started to take profits," said Richard Xu, a fund manager at HuaAn Gold, China's top gold exchange-traded fund (ETF). "The first phase of a gold run, which is largely driven by the Fed's inaction to raise rates, is over. The market is now looking three months ahead and taking positions accordingly."