* Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,874.58 per ounce, as of 0054 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,886.20.
* The dollar was largely steady against its rivals. A stronger greenback makes dollar-priced gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies.
* Fed officials said on Wednesday more rate hikes are in the cards as the U.S. central bank presses forward with its efforts to cool inflation, although none were ready to suggest that January's hot jobs report could push them back to a more aggressive monetary policy stance.
* Gold is sensitive to high interest rates which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
* Market participants are now expecting the Fed's target
rate to peak at 5.132% in July, from a current range of 4.5% to
4.75%.
* President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he did not believe
the U.S. economy would fall into recession either this year or
next year.
* SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed
exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.03% to 921.10
tonnes on Wednesday from 920.82 tonnes on Tuesday.
* Spot silver fell 0.1% to $22.28 per ounce, platinum was 0.3% lower at $966.85 and palladium eased 0.1%
to $1,646.89.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
0700 Germany CPI Prelim YY Jan
0700 Germany HICP Prelim YY Jan
0945 Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks to
lawmakers about the central bank's decision to raise
rates to a 14-year high of 4% but also signal that its push to quash inflation might be nearing its end 1330 US Initial Jobless Clm Weekly 1500 German Economy Minister Robert Habeck gives speech at
2023 energy dialogue (Reporting by Kavya Guduru in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
