The stronger dollar and rising yields, along with expectations of a strong economic recovery, sapped demand for safe-haven bullion and pushed gold prices lower.
European shares dipped to near two-week lows, while oil prices bounced back from steep losses on Tuesday after a ship ran aground in the Suez Canal, though traffic was expected to resume soon.
The mood is fairly fragile as all the optimism that characterised the push higher over the past two or three weeks in shares is starting to bleed away on talk of a European third wave and extensions of pandemic lockdowns in Germany and France.
German used-car retailer Auto1 rose 3.9% after brokerages boosted rating on the company a month after it raised 1.83 billion euros in its initial public offering.