Gold and precious metals prices stabilized during the European session on Wednesday. As traders await the minutes of the Fed meeting later in the day.

Markets are awaiting minutes of the Fed's latest meeting to see signs of the direction of US monetary policy this year, after the Open Market Committee pledged in its last meeting on 29 and 30 January to show patience and look at all indicators of the economy.

Optimism about trade negotiations

After somewhat optimistic remarks by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday on trade talks with China. Trump referred to the ongoing negotiations as "complex" and hinted that the end of the last trade truce would be extended on March 1.

Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Wednesday he believed Washington would not impose tariffs on European cars. British Prime Minister Theresa May is scheduled to meet later in the day. German product price data will be released before markets open.

• The euro traded steady against the dollar, trading at $ 1.13384 at 7:44 am.
• Meanwhile, the pound was down 0.11% against the dollar, trading at $ 1.30515.
• The dollar index, which measures the performance of the greenback against a basket of six currencies, stabilized at 96.58.

Palladium reaches its highest level ever during yesterday's trading

Palladium hit its highest level ever on Tuesday and platinum prices continued to rise, while gold and silver fell slightly as investors waited for the next round of US-China trade talks.
The price of the metal has more than tripled since January 2016. Citigroup expects this month to rise further and reach $ 1,600.

Precious metals trading

• Palladium jumped 0.77% to sell at $ 1.491.88 an ounce at 10:55 am CET.
• Platinum rose 0.13% to move at $ 822.52 an ounce at the same time
• Gold fell 0.04% to trade at $ 1.341.17 an ounce at 10:57 CET,
• While silver fell 0.12% to sell at $ 16.02 at the same time.