Gold held above $1,200 an ounce on Thursday as minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy meet showed the US central bank was unlikely to hike interest rates in June, in line with market expectations. Spot gold was steady at $1,209.60 an ounce by 0658 GMT, after gaining 0.2 percent in the previous session. Minutes of the Fed's April meeting, released on Wednesday, showed policymakers believed it would be premature to hike interest rates in June, a view that is already widely held in the market following disappointing US economic data.
The minutes showed Fed officials pushing the prospect of a rate hike later into the year. "Gold will benefit from the Fed's decision to postpone their rate hike and the bar for gold's support level look to be raised from here," said Howie Lee, an analyst at Phillip Futures. Gold prices have struggled to break out of a $1,170-$1,230 an ounce range since mid-March, hamstrung by uncertainty over the timing of an expected rise in US interest rates. "If gold manages to break above $1,220 decisively, we think a sustained rally in prices would probably materialise," said Lee.
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