Gold prices fall for a third day as dollar bounces off December 2014-lows@Highlight updates
Gold prices fell for a third straight session on Tuesday as the dollar rebounded from over three-year lows hit last week, while investors waited for the minutes of the latest Federal Reserve meeting for clues on the outlook for U.S. interest rates.
Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,341.20 an ounce at 0340 GMT. Earlier, it fell to as low as $1,340.16, the lowest since Feb. 14.
U.S. gold futures were down 1 percent at $1,342.90 per ounce, posting its biggest one-day fall in nearly two weeks.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, was up 0.3 percent at 89.397. It fell to 88.253 last week, the lowest since December 2014.
The U.S. currency showed signs of a bounce-back as some investors bought in after last week's declines, though the gains on Tuesday were capped by growing concerns that a rising fiscal deficit in the United States could disrupt the economy.
The minutes of the January Fed meeting will provide key guidance for the dollar and gold, said Helen Lau, analyst at Argonaut Securities.
"The key driver will be interest rate hikes ... How fast and how many times they can raise," Lau added.
The U.S. Fed will release the minutes of its Jan. 30 to 31 policy meeting on Wednesday. The meeting was held during last month's drop in equity markets and investors are interested in the Fed's response to the market gyrations as well as the rate outlook.
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