Gold slips as US Federal Reserve officials hint at possible 'taper' talks

Gold prices inched down on Thursday after touching over four-month highs in the previous session as 'tapering' talk from the US Federal Reserve bolstered the dollar and Treasury yields, weighing on non-yielding bullion. Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,868.52 per ounce by 0936 GMT. US gold futures fell 0.7 per cent to $1,869.10.

Fed minutes published on Wednesday showed "a number" of officials thought that if the recovery holds up, it might be appropriate to "begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases".

Chatter about tapering has impacted the sentiment in gold markets, said ABN Amro