Investing.com -- Gold inched down halting a three-day winning streak, as investors traded cautiously ahead of the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's April meeting on Wednesday afternoon.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for June delivery traded between $1,267.50 and $1,282.90 an ounce before settling at $1,273.75, down 3.15 or 0.25% on the session. Gold still remains near 15-month highs from the start of May when it eclipsed $1,300 an ounce. Since the start of the year, the precious metal is up by more than 20% and is on pace for one of its strongest first halves of a year in more than a decade.
Gold likely gained support at $1,063.20, the low from January 4 and was met with resistance at $1,322.10, the high from August 8, 2014.
Investors could receive further clues on the timing of the Federal Reserve's next interest rate hike when the U.S. central bank releases the minutes of its April meeting on Wednesday afternoon following the close of gold markets. Last month, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 9-1 to leave the target range of its benchmark Federal Funds Rate unchanged between 0.25 and 0.50%. At the time, the FOMC said it will assess economic conditions, measures of labor market conditions, indications of inflationary pressures and expectations, as well as readings on financial and international developments in determining the scope of future adjustments to the Fed Funds Rate.
Gold traders also digested hawkish comments from a pair of non-voting FOMC members on Tuesday regarding the potential for multiple rate hikes by the Fed before the end of 2016. At a joint appearance in Washington, both Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco Fed president John Williams suggested that "two to three rate hikes," this year seems possible, while Lockhart noted that a rate hike will still remain on the table at the FOMC's next meeting on June 14-15.
Any rate hikes by the Fed this year are viewed as bearish for gold, which struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in rising rate environments.
Elsewhere, the Atlanta Fed said on Wednesday morning that business inflation expectations increased 0.2 in its May reading to 1.9, its strongest reading since January. It came one day after the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.4% in April, amid a surge in gasoline prices. The Core CPI Price Index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, gained 0.2% in line with analysts' expectations.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, gained more than 0.15% to an intraday high of 94.89. At session-highs, the dollar reached its highest level in three and a half weeks. Despite the modest gains, the index is still down more than 4% since early-December.
Dollar-denominated commodities such as gold become more expensive for foreign purchasers when the dollar appreciates.
Silver for July delivery fell 0.120 or 0.70% to $1,273.75 an ounce.
Copper for July delivery lost 0.009 or 0.43% to $2.080 a pound.