Gold cut most of its earlier losses as the dollar lowered some of its gains and European shares dropped, boosting the appeal of the yellow metal.
The precious metal hit a low of $1229.30 an ounce, while currently trading around $1243.22 from the opening at $1241.72.
Gold slipped 1 percent earlier today as the dollar soared for a third straight session against a basket of major currencies and Asian shares climbed to four-month highs.
The dollar index, which tracks the green currency’s movements versus a basket of major currencies, jumped to a high of 95.20, resuming it rebound since hitting a bottom of 93.61 on Tuesday.
“In an interview published on Wednesday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said she still favours a cautious approach to monetary policy because the U.S. central bank must try to avoid making big mistakes,” according to Reuters.
Data released yesterday showed a 0.3 percent drop in retail sales in March, while PPI fell 0.1 percent.
Later in the day, the U.S. will release consumer prices for the month of March and the weekly unemployment claims.
European shares slipped, with the STOXX 600 falling 0.20 percent to 342.34, giving some help to gold.
