Gold falls off two-week high as dollar rises

Gold futures fell in American trade away from March 7 highs as the dollar index rebounded from March 8 lows, amid a lack of data from the US, the world's largest economy, while the Federal Open Market Committee starts its two-day policy meeting today. 

As of 01:59 GMT, gold futures due on April 15 fell 0.73% to $1,308.20 an ounce from the opening of $1,317.80, while the dollar index rose 0.60% to 90.30 from the opening of 89.76. 

Now investors await the results of the FOMC's meeting tomorrow under new Chair Jerome Powell, as analysts expect policymakers to hike interest rates to between 1.50% and 1.75%, while unveiling their three-year forecasts for growth, inflation, unemployment, and interest rates. 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in his recent Congress testimony that hiking interest rates four times this year would be considered a "gradual pace", bolstering expectations of a March rate hike.

The economy created 313 thousand new jobs last month, while wages slowed down, confirming Powell's expectations that labor would strengthen further before improvements in wages. 

Gold holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed investment fund, rose on Monday by 10.62 tonnes to a total of 850.84 tonnes, the highest since October 26, 2017.