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BENGALURU. — Gold prices held steady yesterday as a fall in Asian shares was offset by a stronger dollar, which firmed after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September meeting reinforced expectations of a tighter US monetary policy.

Fed policymakers are largely united on the need to raise borrowing costs further, minutes from their most recent policy meeting showed, boosting expectations the committee will stick to its hawkish stance on raising interest rates.

Spot gold was flat at $1,222.23 an ounce at 0746 GMT, staying close to its highest since July 26 at 1,233.26 an ounce hit on Monday.

US gold futures were down 0,2percent at $1,225.20 an ounce.
“Gold is closely tracking both the U.S. dollar and equities, more so the dollar,” said Peter Fung, head of dealing at Wing Fung Precious Metals in Hong Kong.

The dollar index rose to a fresh one-week high against a basket of currencies on Thursday.
“When the debate is that how high you can push the interest rate, it is going to leave a negative scar on the gold price in the short term,” Think Markets UK chief markets analyst Naeem Aslam said in a note. — Reuters.