By Ira Iosebashvili 

Gold prices held their gains in aftermarket trading Wednesday after minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting gave little indication that the central bank planned to raise rates at a faster pace.

Gold for April delivery was recently up 0.1% at $1,332.30 a troy ounce in electronic trading. Prices closed at $1,332.10 a troy ounce in regular trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Wednesday's minutes showed that the Fed still plans to raise rates gradually, and that Fed officials late last month believed the economy was set to grow faster than when they met in December. Some investors had feared that the central bank might get more aggressive and raise rates more than the three times previously forecast, but Wednesday's minutes also showed that some officials are still worried inflation might continue to lag below their 2% target.

Expectations that monetary policy could tighten faster than expected tend to hurt gold, which struggles to compete with yield-bearing assets when borrowing costs rise.

"The main statement seems to be that they...will not be quick to pull the trigger," said Ira Epstein, of broker Linn & Associates.

In base metals, copper for March delivery closed up 0.8% at $3.2160 a pound.

Write to Ira Iosebashvili at ira.iosebashvili@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2018 15:20 ET (20:20 GMT)

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