By Marcy Nicholson and Clara Denina
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Gold extended losses on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it will remain "patient" with regard to any interest rate increase decisions.
After its first policy-setting meeting of the year, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said the U.S. economy is on track despite turmoil in other markets around the world. The statement no longer contains the closely watched "considerable time" phrase in connection to interest rates.
Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,284.11 an ounce by 2:57 p.m. EST (1957 GMT), trading in a $13 range. It hit a five-month high of $1,306.20 last week, before retreating on stronger risk appetite after the European Central Bank announced liquidity measures.
U.S. gold futures settled down $5.80 at $1,285.90 an ounce.
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"The removal of 'considerable time' was balanced by the acknowledgement of the international situation and reiteration of patience," said Tai Wong, director of base and precious metals trading for BMO Capital Markets in New York.
"The market, however, remains concerned that perhaps the Fed does want to normalize rates as risky assets have slipped lower and USD is steady. Short-term money is long gold and silver which may be why both are struggling."
The dollar rose 0.4 percent to its session high after the statement.
On Tuesday, a Reuters poll showed gold prices are forecast to fall for a third year in a row in 2015, with the United States readying for its first rate hike in nearly a decade.
In the near term, gold is unlikely to fall below $1,250 because of buying interest from the Chinese ahead of the Lunar New Year next month, said Howie Lee, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures.
Gold imports from Hong Kong by top consumer China fell by nearly a third in 2014, although purchases were still the second highest on record at just over 813 tonnes.
Among other precious metals, spot silver was down 0.3 percent at $17.97 an ounce. Palladium gained 2 percent at $793.50 an ounce while platinum was down 0.4 percent at $1,253.50 an ounce.
(Additional reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr in Singapore; Editing by Jason Neely, John Stonestreet and Diane Craft)
