Gold prices were flat on Thursday, February 22, weighed down as minutes from the last U.S. Federal Reserve
meeting showed policymakers confident in the need to keep raising interest rates.
Spot gold was largely flat at $iiiiii an ounce at 0108 GMT, a day after it fell to its lowest in a week at
1,322.20. The precious metal has dropped 1.7 percent so far this week.
U.S. gold futures were down 0.3 percent at $1,328.1 per ounce.
The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.2 percent at 90.156.
The dollar rose to an over one-week peak on Wednesday, extending its recovery from last week, helped by the Fed minutes and by higher short-term Treasury yields.
The more upbeat take on inflation in the minutes of the Jan. 30-31 policy meeting released on Wednesday will likely further cement expectations that new Fed chief Jerome Powell will lead his colleagues in raising interest rates next month.
Venezuela is preparing a new cryptocurrency called “petro gold” that will be backed by precious metals, President Nicolas Maduro said on Wednesday, a day after launching an oil-backed token that has been panned as a pipe dream by blockchain experts.
