Gold holds ground with spotlight on Fed meet

Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as investors awaited the US central bank's first policy decision under new Chair Kevin Warsh, along with further details of the US-Iran peace agreement for further direction, reports Reuters.

Spot gold was little changed at $4,325.59 per ounce by 8:20 a.m. EDT (1220 GMT). US gold futures were down 0.2 per cent at $4,345.00.

"US rates are expected to remain unchanged, but the real focus will be on Kevin Warsh. Any whiff of hawkishness may weigh on gold which remains highly sensitive to interest rate expectations," said Lukman Otunuga, senior research analyst at FXTM.

"Looking at the charts, prices may push higher toward $4,350 if $4,300 proves reliable support. Weakness below $4,300 could trigger a selloff back toward the $4250-$4200 per ounce support area."

Spot gold touched a near six-month low last week as inflation fears stoked by the Iran conflict boosted expectations of US rate hikes.

While gold is often seen as a hedge against inflation, elevated interest rates tend to pressure bullion, as it offers no yield.

Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.5 per cent to $69.84 per ounce. Platinum lost 0.9 per cent to $1,787.15 and palladium fell 0.2 per cent at $1,349.11.