Gold prices fall on dollar strength; Fed minutes in focus

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Gold bullion is displayed at GoldSilver Central's office in Singapore June 19, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su

By Eileen Soreng

(Reuters) - Gold prices slipped on Wednesday, pressured by a firmer dollar as investors look to minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's May policy meeting due later in the day for cues on its policy tightening path.

Spot gold fell 0.6% to $1,855.30 per ounce by 1007 GMT, on track to snap a five-day winning streak. U.S. gold futures dropped 0.6% to $1,854.80.

The dollar was up 0.4% after hitting its lowest level in a month on Tuesday.

"The dollar will probably once again reach towards those maximums that it touched earlier in May because the FOMC minutes will reveal that the Fed is committed to its current hawkish stance and these are bad news for gold," said Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is expected to release the minutes from its May 3–4 policy meeting at 1800 GMT.

While markets expect 50-basis-point rate hikes over the next several months, there are also concerns that aggressive policy tightening could weigh on economic recovery.

In an essay published on Tuesday, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic warned headlong rate hikes could create "significant economic dislocation".

Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion and also boosts the dollar, in which it is priced.

"As we do not see the U.S. economy slipping into recession, the recent revival of safe-haven demand should be temporary, leaving little upside to prices," Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke said in a note, adding silver should continue moving in gold's slipstream.

Spot silver fell 1.1% to $21.84 per ounce, platinum shed 1.2% to $942.55, and palladium eased 0.3% to $2,000.74.