Gold moved up a shade on Wednesday, but remained near last week's 5-1/2-year low, after a US Federal Reserve statement raised uncertainty about the timing of a possible interest rate hike, leaving the door open for September. Following a two-day policy meeting, Fed officials said they felt the economy had overcome a first-quarter slowdown and was "expanding moderately" despite a downturn in the energy sector and headwinds from overseas.
The statement said the US economy and job market continue to strengthen. "(The) market can't seem to decide whether the Fed has moved marginally farther away from a September hike," said Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York. "Will need some FOMC members' spin in the coming days for a bit more clarity." Spot gold was up 0.14 percent at $1,096.50 an ounce at 2:41 pm EDT (1841 GMT).
US gold for August delivery settled down 0.3 percent at $1,092.60 an ounce, prior to the statement. Spot palladium was down 0.7 percent at $615 an ounce and platinum was down 0.2 percent at $983 an ounce, both not far above multi-year lows. Silver was up 0.8 percent at $14.79 an ounce.