CHICAGO, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange ended higher Wednesday on weakened U.S. dollar, as the market weighed comments from Federal Reserve officials for hints on the pace of the central bank's interest-rate hikes in 2019.
The most active gold contract for February delivery went up 6.10 dollars, or 0.47 percent, to settle at 1,292 dollars per ounce.
Gold prices extended gains in electronic trading as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's December meeting revealed that some Fed members wanted to hold policy steady in December.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the buck against six rivals, went down 0.66 percent to 95.29 as of 1815 GMT.
Gold usually moves in opposite directions with the U.S. dollar, which means if the dollar goes strong, gold futures will fall as gold, priced in dollar, becomes expensive for investors using other currencies.
As for other precious metals, silver for March delivery was up 2.20 cents, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 15.735 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery rose 3.50 dollars, or 0.43 percent, to close at 825.30 dollars per ounce. Enditem
