Gold square up as equities decline.

Bengaluru — Gold inched up on Monday as Asian stocks fell and the dollar eased ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy meeting that could give clues on the pace of interest rate increases over the rest of 2017.With the Fed widely expected to raise interest rates at its two-day meeting that ends on Wednesday, the focus will be on any fresh hints on the pace of further tightening in the months to come and next year, and any further details on its plans for trimming its balance sheet.The focus was on whether the Fed was looking at three or four rate increases in 2017, said Argonaut Securities analyst Helen Lau.Higher interest rates tend to boost the dollar and bond yields, putting pressure on gold prices by increasing the opportunity cost of holding nonyielding bullion."With the UK event risk successfully negotiated, it would appear the market is putting more emphasis on this week’s FOMC [Federal open market committee] rate hike," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst with Oanda, adding that markets had priced in an almost 100% chance the Fed would lift rates.The market is also anxious to see if the Fed becomes more dovish in its outlook, he said.Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,267.49/oz as of 4.11am GMT, after shedding 1% in its biggest one-day percentage decline since May 18 in the previous session US gold futures for August delivery fell 0.2% to $1,269.50.In the wider markets, Asian stocks edged lower in early trade on Monday following a slide by US technology shares.The dollar index against a basket of currencies dipped 0.1% to 97.176 following its rise to a nine-day high of 97.500 on Friday.Among other metals, spot palladium fell 0.7% to $884.49/oz after hitting a 16-year high on Friday.Silver was flat at $17.16/oz, while platinum rose 0.3% to $936.45/oz.