Gold firmed up above $1,860 an ounce on Monday, inching toward its highest level in three weeks, benefiting from recent weakness in the dollar. The dollar fell to one-month lows against a basket of major currencies as traders lowered Federal Reserve rate hike expectations amid signs the central bank might slow or even pause its tightening cycle later this year. Minutes of the last FOMC meeting showed that most participants believed that 50 basis point rate hikes would be appropriate at each of the next two meetings in June and July to get on top of inflation. However, many officials thought big, early hikes would allow room to pause later in the year to assess the effects of that policy tightening, while carefully watching the evolving economic outlook.
