Investing.com - Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday as the dollar hovered below almost 14-year highs against a currency basket as investors awaited the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy meeting earlier this month.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange were at $1,212.9 a troy ounce, holding above the lows of $1,201.30 set on Friday, a level not seen since May 30.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback's strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was last at 100.98. The index was holding above Tuesday's low of 100.71 and was not far from the 13-and-a-half year high of 101.54 set on Friday.
Before falling on Monday the greenback had risen for 10 straight sessions, its longest winning streak since May 2012.
Gold is priced in dollars and becomes more affordable to holders of other currencies when the dollar declines.
But market analysts have warned that the outlook for gold remains cloudy in the near-term, given a U.S. interest rate hike in December is now a near-certainty.
According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, odds for a rate hike at the Fed's December 13-14 meeting are at 95.4%.
Prices of the yellow metal are down around 4.5% so far this month amid the view that increased U.S. fiscal spending under a Trump administration will spur economic growth and inflation, which would ultimately lead to an era of higher interest rates.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.
Elsewhere in metals trading, silver futures for December delivery were at $16.60 a troy ounce, while copper futures traded at $2.551 a pound.
Copper prices have risen around 16% so far this month on expectations of rising demand from China and an increase in infrastructure spending in the U.S. when Donald Trump becomes president.
China and the U.S. are the top two consumers of the industrial metal.