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CHICAGO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Thursday after the release of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting minutes.
The most active gold contract for March delivery rose 18.1 U.S. dollars, or 1.47 percent, to settle at 1,251.40 dollars per ounce.
The meeting minutes from the February FOMC are in and investors are seeing hints at a rate hike "fairly soon" which is not as optimistic as they had originally anticipated, given the recent data.
Investors believe the Fed may raise rates from 0.75 to 1.00 during the May FOMC meeting at the earliest. According to the CME Group's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to at least 0.75 is at 22 percent at the March meeting and 52 percent for the May meeting.
Gold was given extensive support as the U.S. Dollar Index fell by 0.25 percent to 101.07 as of 1805 GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.
The precious metal was prevented from rising further as the U.S Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 37.98, or 0.18 percent as of 18:06 GMT. Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.
Investors are waiting for the new home sales report due on Friday, and several key economic reports due next week. The durable goods orders report is due Monday, gross domestic product and international trade in goods is due Tuesday, personal income and outlays is due on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims is due on Thursday, and Friday will see several Fed officials giving speeches, including Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
Silver for March delivery rose 16.7 cents, or 0.93 percent, to close at 18.117 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery added 9.2 dollars, or 0.92 percent, to close at 1,011.90 dollars per ounce. Enditem
