NEW YORK/LONDON, June 18 (Reuters) - Gold edged up on
Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hinted at a slightly faster
pace of interest rate increases next year but slashed its
forecast for U.S. economic growth this year, lifting bullion's
safe-haven appeal.
After a two-day policy meeting, the central bank slashed its
forecast for U.S. economic growth to a range of between 2.1
percent and 2.3 percent from an earlier forecast of around 2.9
percent, but expressed confidence the recovery was largely on
track.
"The growth forecast reduction suggested that the Fed may
not be in a hurry to accelerate tapering," said James Steel,
chief metals analyst at HSBC.
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,273.40 an ounce by
2:34 p.m. EDT (1834 GMT), after trading in a narrow $9 trading
range.
