Gold and silver prices declined on Wednesday amid a wave of profit-taking after recent gains, while a stronger dollar weighed on investor sentiment in the precious metals market.

Spot gold fell 0.7% to $4,466.19 per ounce by 02:05 GMT. The metal had reached a record high of $4,549.71 on Dec. 26. 


U.S. gold futures for February delivery dropped 0.4% to $4,477.30. 


The dollar remained in a narrow trading range near its highest level in more than two weeks ahead of a series of U.S. economic data releases, making dollar-priced assets more expensive for holders of other currencies. 


Stephen Miran, a member of the Federal Reserve Board whose term ends this month, said Tuesday that significantly lowering U.S. interest rates is essential this year to sustain economic growth. 


Investors are currently expecting the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates at least twice this year and are awaiting non-farm payroll data due Friday for further clues on the monetary policy outlook. 

US President Donald Trump announced yesterday that Caracas and Washington have reached an agreement to export up to $2 billion of Venezuelan crude oil to the United States, a move officials said would shift supplies from China following what Venezuelan officials described as the kidnapping of former President Nicolás Maduro. 


Yieldless assets like gold tend to rise with lower interest rates and in times of geopolitical or economic uncertainty.

For other precious metals, spot silver dropped 1.2% to $80.34 per ounce after reaching an all-time high of $83.62 on Dec. 29. Spot platinum fell 2.9% to $2,373.00 per ounce after hitting a record high of $2,478.50 last week. Palladium fell 2.5% to $1,777.22 per ounce.