A slight rise in gold amid ahead of Fed

Gold prices rose slightly on Wednesday as investors awaited the minutes of the latest monetary policy meeting at the Federal Reserve to assess the chances of further raising interest rates.

Spot gold rose 0.1 percent to $1,835.79 an ounce by 0643 GMT. And gold futures contracts in the United States increased 0.1 percent to $ 1844 an ounce.

Although gold is considered a tool to hedge against inflation, high interest rates increase the opportunity cost of owning the precious metal, which does not yield a return.

Minutes of the US central bank’s latest monetary policy meeting are due to be published at 1900 GMT on Wednesday. The bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points at its January 31-February 1 meeting and is expected to raise key interest rates above 5 percent by May, peaking at 5.347 percent in July.

There was little change in the spot silver price at $21.83 an ounce, while platinum rose 0.2 percent to $944.18. The two metals fell from their highest levels in a week recorded on Tuesday.

Palladium fell 0.4 percent, recording $1,518.92 an ounce.