21.02.201802:18:00UTC+00Gold Prices Notch 1-Week Low on Firm Dollar; Fed Minutes in Focus

Gold prices dropped further on Wednesday and reached a one-week low as the dollar steadied following a recovery from last week's three-year trough, while investors awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last policy meeting for clues on the pace of interest rate hikes this year.

Spot gold had dropped 0.2 percent to $1,326.37 per ounce and was down for a fourth consecutive session. Earlier in the day, prices hit its lowest since Feb. 14 at $1,325.31 an ounce.

U.S. gold futures were 0.2 percent lower at $1,328.5 per ounce.

Investors are looking forward to the minutes of the Fed's Jan. 30-31 policy meeting for any signs of a hawkish tone.

Spot gold may drop to $1,316 per ounce as it has broken a support at $1,335, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, increased 0.39 percent to 827.79 tonnes on Tuesday from 824.54 tonnes on Friday.

Russia's gold reserves was at 59.7 million troy ounces as of the start of February, the central bank said. The country increased gold holdings by 18.911 tonnes to 1,857.73 tonnes in Jan. 2018, according to IMF data.

Foreign-owned banks, insurance companies and law firms could be locked out of Tanzania's mining sector as part of tough new regulations that aim to limit foreign ownership of mining-related activity.

Among other precious metals, silver fell 0.4 percent to $16.39 an ounce, palladium dropped 0.2 percent to $1,031.50, and platinum dipped 0.3 percent to $996.90.