Gold futures ended modestly higher Wednesday ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting, which may offer further clues to the central bank’s game plan for monetary policy. April gold was $3.20, or 0.3%, higher to settle at $1,211.40 an ounce. The minutes are expected to be released at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, about half an hour after metals trading on Comex close, but are likely to signal a slowing pace for future interest-rate raises–a boon to precious metals like gold that don’t offer a yield. The yellow metal’s climb occurred even as U.S. stocks were on track for a third day of advances Wednesday afternoon.
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