(Bloomberg) -- Spot gold extended gains after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed that while officials expect further interest-rate increases soon, they said “it would be prudent” to wait for evidence that a recent slowdown in economic activity had been transitory.
“Most participants judged that if economic information came in about in line with their expectations it would soon be appropriate for the committee to take another step in removing some policy accommodation,” according to minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s May 2-3 gathering released Wednesday in Washington.
Political turmoil in the U.S. has weighed on the dollar and boosted demand for gold as a haven. The metal has also benefited from speculation that recent signs of uneven economic expansion may slow the Fed’s hand in tightening monetary policy. Growth slowed in the first quarter to an annualized pace of 0.7 percent, even as unemployment continued to decline.
Gold for immediate delivery rose 0.3 percent to $1,255.20 an ounce at 2:13 p.m. in New York, after touching $1,258.40.
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