Gold Slips From Over One-week High On Profit Taking

(RTTNews) - Gold prices fell on profit taking Wednesday after climbing to a more than one-week high earlier, driven by escalating geopolitical tensions.

Spot gold dipped 0.7 percent to $4,463.50 while U.S. gold futures were down half a percent at $4,472.60.

A stronger dollar prompted traders to book some profits as focus shifted to key U.S. economic that could influence the Federal Reserve's rate outlook.

Trading later in the day may be impacted by reaction to reports on U.S. private sector employment, job openings and service sector activity.

Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy meeting later this month.

While the Fed is likely to leave rates unchanged at its January 27-28 meeting, the central bank is widely expected to cut rates by at least another quarter point in the coming months.

Stephen Miran, a former economic advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump and a Federal Reserve governor, said on Tuesday that aggressive rate cuts exceeding 1 percentage point are necessary within this year.

He argued that current tight monetary policy is dragging down the world's largest economy.