Gold rose for the second day on Thursday as the dollar weakened after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's June meeting gave no hints of when US interest rates will hike.
The bullion sentiment received a boost after the dollar hit a one-week low against a six-currency basket, coming under pressure of the growing uncertainty for the timing of the Fed's move.
Attention to policy normalization and its communication to the markets were highlights of yesterday’s FOMC minutes that confirmed expectations for gradual tapering of asset purchases followed by the first rate hike sometime next year. Lack of alarm over the inflation outlook was another positive in the minutes.
The dollar index was little changed around 80.05 following a three-day losing streak.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped back 0.50% ending just below 17,000 at 16,985.
Investors were also eyeing developments in India, where the new government is expected to cut a record high import duty on the precious metal at the fiscal budget to be presented later in the day.
The Indian government is seeking to trim the budget deficit to 4.1 per cent of gross domestic product this year from 4.5% last year.
India is the world's second-largest gold consumer, after China.
As of 04:15 a.m. ET: