Gold prices retreated on Thursday after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, as widely expected, but raised its forecast for rates at the end of next year saying that battle against inflation was far from over.
Spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,923.40 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were down 1.2 percent at $1,943.35.
The dollar hit a 6-1/2 month high and Eurozone bond yields reached multi-month highs on the hawkish Fed stance.
The Fed's next monetary policy meeting is scheduled for October 31-November 1, with CME Group's FedWatch Tool currently indicating a 73.6 percent chance rates will remain unchanged and a 26.4 percent chance of a quarter point rate increase.
Elsewhere, the Swiss National Bank held rates unchanged earlier today, but warned that more increases may still be needed.
Sweden's Riksbank has raised borrowing costs by a quarter point and said it might need to do more to bring inflation back to its 2 percent target.
Norway's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points and indicated another rate hike in December to curb inflation.
The Bank of England will announce its rate decision later today, with most economists expecting the central bank to deliver another 25- bps hike, lifting interest rate to 5.50 percent.
In economic releases, reports on U.S. weekly jobless claims, current account data for the second quarter, U.S. Consumer Board's leading index for August and U.S. existing home sales figures for August are slated for release in the New York session.
