Spot Gold Flat Ahead of FOMC Minutes

Frankfurt (May 21)  Gold prices were little changed on the European spot market Wednesday as investors awaited further clues on the direction of U.S. monetary policy.

Spot gold was 0.1% higher at $1,295.13 a troy ounce in morning European trade.

All eyes are on minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's April policy meeting, due for release at 1800 GMT. Investors will pick the minutes apart for clues about the future of the Fed's economic stimulus program. Gold is viewed by many as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement -- two risks associated with loose monetary policy.

Trade was also cautious ahead of a presidential vote in Ukraine over the weekend.

"The markets will be watching [the vote] carefully," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir. "If the Russians destabilize the vote, another round of sanctions will be imposed on them with rather unpredictable consequences for the markets. For now, we would like to stay long gold going into the long weekend."

Other precious metals were higher Wednesday. Silver was up 0.4% at $19.474 an ounce, platinum was up 0.8% at $1,476.70 an ounce and palladium was up 0.2% at $825.95 an ounce.