Gold futures tilted higher in American trade while still hovering near December 26 lows, as the dollar index hit December 19 highs, following earlier data from the US, the world's largest economy. 

As of 02:05 GMT, gold futures due on June 15 inched up 0.06% to $1,291.10 an ounce from the opening of $1,290.30, while the dollar index added 0.17% to 93.39 from the opening of 93.22. 

Earlier US data showed housing starts fell 1.8% in April to an annualized 1.352 million units, compared to a 4.1% rise in March to 1.377 million, while analysts expected a 2.1% dip to 1.350 million. 

Building permits fell 3.7% to 1.287 million, compared to a 3.6% rise to 1.336 million in March, while analysts expected a 0.7% dip to 1.310 million. 

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic spoke earlier about the economic outlook at the Augusta Cotton Exchange, where he pointed to Fed's uncertainty on how will US companies respond to tax cuts, with most polls so far indicating corporations aren't changing their spending plans in 2018. 

Bostic said consumer spending is strong but still not at its peak, expressing otherwise his support for three rate hikes this year, while pointing to the 3.9% unemployment rate as extremely low. 

US industrial production rose 0.7% in April, same as March and beating expectations of a slowdown in growth to 0.6%. 

The Capacity Utilization Rate rose to 78% in April from 77.6% in March, missing forecasts of 78.4%. 

Recently, the World Gold Council reported a 7% drop in global demand in the first quarter of 2018 to 973.5 tonnes, the lowest since the first quarter of 2008, as investments fell 27% on the precious metal to 287 tonnes from 383 tonnes in the first quarter of 2017. 

Central banks' gold demand rose 42% to 116.5 tonnes, especially from Russia, while jewelry demand steadied at 487.7 tonnes, as mine supplies grew 1% y/y to 770 thousand tonnes. 

Gold holdings at SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed investment fund, steadied at 856.17 tonnes on Tuesday with no change, the lowest since April 5, after rising 3%, or 23.63 tonnes in 2017, while gold prices rose 13% last year.

Platinum prices fell in American trade to December 18, 2017 lows as the dollar index hit December 19 highs, following earlier data from the US, the world's largest economy. 

As of 01:39 GMT, platinum prices fell 0.47% to $892.82 an ounce from the opening of $897.04, while the dollar index rose 0.28% to 93.48 from the opening of 93.22, marking five-month highs. 

Earlier US data showed housing starts fell 1.8% in April to an annualized 1.352 million units, compared to a 4.1% rise in March to 1.377 million, while analysts expected a 2.1% dip to 1.350 million. 

Building permits fell 3.7% to 1.287 million, compared to a 3.6% rise to 1.336 million in March, while analysts expected a 0.7% dip to 1.310 million. 

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic spoke earlier about the economic outlook at the Augusta Cotton Exchange, where he pointed to Fed's uncertainty on how will US companies respond to tax cuts, with most polls so far indicating corporations aren't changing their spending plans in 2018. 

Bostic said consumer spending is strong but still not at its peak, expressing otherwise his support for three rate hikes this year, while pointing to the 3.9% unemployment rate as extremely low. 

US industrial production rose 0.7% in April, same as March and beating expectations of a slowdown in growth to 0.6%. 

The Capacity Utilization Rate rose to 78% in April from 77.6% in March, missing forecasts of 78.4%. 

US industrial production rose 0.7% in April, same as March and beating expectations of a slowdown in growth to 0.6%. 

The Capacity Utilization Rate rose to 78% in April from 77.6% in March, missing forecasts of 78.4%. 

Ethereum fell on Wednesday for the third straight session away from the crucial support of $700 as most cryptocurrencies lose ground following Microsoft's blanket ban on crypto ads. 

At Bitstamp, ethereum fell $9, 1.3% to $695 from the opening of $704, with a session-high at $710, and a low at $675. 

Ethereum lost 3.2% on Tuesday, the second loss in a row amid concerns of increased regulatory measures in Japan and deepening official investigations in South Korea. 

Ethereum tumbled 7.2% last week, the first loss in six weeks as cryptocurrencies fell en masse. 

Market value of cryptocurrencies fell $18 billion on Wednesday to a total of $373 billion, moving below $400 billion again and heading for April lows. 

After Facebook, Google, and Twitter, Microsoft lopped another hit at the crypto market by banning all crypto-related ads on the search engine Bing. 

The company stated the reason behind the ban is the current illegal position for crypto messaging, which increases risk of fraud and misguidance for Bing users. 

The company said the main factor was that there are no official regulations for crypto products so far, which prompted Microsoft to take precautionary actions until the issue is addressed by regulatory authorities

Bing plans to start implementing a global-wide ban between June and early July.