Gold rises on expectations of dovish Fed

London (Mar 20) Gold has ticked higher ahead of a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee that ends Wednesday, according to analysts.

 Gold climbed for a third day amid expectations of dovish signals as Fed officials are likely to indicate patience on monetary policy amidst growing economic weakness as it meets this week, SP Angel added.

 A decision is due Wednesday, with expectations to hold interest rates steady and lower projections for the number of interest-rate hikes.

 Lower U.S. rates tend to help gold by hurting the U.S. dollar and also means a lower so-called opportunity costs, or lost interest income, from holding a non-yielding asset like precious metals.

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