Gold prices fell on Wednesday, and pulled back from 2-week high on profit-taking, ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

Gold prices fell more than 0.4% to $1,735.58 an ounce, after opening at $1,743.09, and hit a high of $1,744.29

Gold closed higher by 0.9% yesterday, after hitting a 2-week high at $1,745.44.

Gold prices as the US dollar fell against a basket of its peers, which makes gold cheaper for other currencies holders.

The US dollar fell due to strong sentiment after the US Treasury bond yields fell and US stock indices rallied to new record highs.

At 18:00 GMT, The Federal Reserve will release minutes of the last policy meeting, at which policymakers voted to maintain current interest rates near zero and the bonds purchases program at over $120 billion.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF fell 3.78 metric tonnes yesterday, with the total at the lowest level since April 15, 2020 at 1,032.83 metric tonnes.

USD/JPY tilted higher in Asian trade away from March 29 lows following earlier data from Japan and ahead of US data and speeches by Fed officials. 

As of 06:50 GMT, USD/JPY rose 0.05% to 109.80, with an intraday high at 109.90.

From Japan, the leading index rose to 99.7 from 98.5 in January, matching expectations. 

From the US, the goods trade balance is expected to show a deficit of $67.5 billion, up from $66.6 billion in January.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Charles Evans is due to speak about economic outlook and monetary policy at an online event hosted by Prairie State College.

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Thomas Barkin will speak about the economy and monetary policy at an online event hosted by the Global Interdependence Center.

The Federal Reserve will release minutes of the last policy meeting, at which policymakers voted to maintain current interest rates near zero and the bonds purchases program at over $120 billion.

The American Petroleum Institute reported today in preliminary data that the US crude inventories fell 2.6 million barrels during the past week, while analysts forecaste a drop by 700K barrels.

Gasoline stocks rose 4.6 million barrels, and the distillate stocks rose 2.8 million barrels.

While the Energy Information Administration will release its official report on Wednesday, which affects price movements.

Gold prices rose on Tuesday, for the fourth straight session as the US dollar fell against most of its peers following the US Treasury bond yields retreat.

The International Monetary Fund revealed its projections for the global GDP, which is expected to grow by 6%, thanks to the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown restrictions.

The IMF added that it expects US GDP to grow by 6.4% in 2021 compared to its previous estimates.

Otherwise, the 10-year US Treasury bond yields fell 1.3% today to 1.665%.

US President Joe Biden revealed recently a massive plan to spend nearly $2 trillion on infrastructure.

The dollar index fell against a basket of currencies by 0.2% to 92.4 points as of 18:22 GMT, after it hit a high of 92.7 points and a low of 92.5 points.

Gold June futures rose 0.8% or $14.2, and at $1,743 an ounce.