LONDON: Gold prices slipped on Monday as the prospect of imminent interest rate rises kept them near the five-week lows touched last week.

However, losses were limited by elections in Europe creating uncertainty and fuelling investor buying.

Spot gold was down 0.1 per cent at $1,203.4 an ounce at 1512 GMT. That compares with $1,194.55 last Friday, its lowest level since Jan. 31. US gold futures were up 0.2pc at $1,203.4.

Investors are focusing on Wednesday`s Dutch elections.

The chance of a euroscepuc party coming to power in the Netherlands is seen as small but a strong election performance could fuel speculation of a surprise result in French presidential elections in April and May.

Wednesday is also the second day of the US Federal Reserve`s two-day meeting. A decision to raise rates will boost the US cur-rency, which when it rises makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for non-US firms.

`A rate rise from the Fed is pretty much priced in, we`re probably going to see two more hikes this year,` said Oxford Economics analyst Daniel Smith.

`A period of higher rates will tend to mean pressure on gold prices.

The statement from the Fed, due to be released at 1800 GMT followed by a briefing at 1830 GMT, will be scrutinised for any changes in thinking among policymakers.

Recent selling by investors can be seen in the holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world`s largest gold-backed exchangetraded fund, which fell 1.06pc to 825.22 tonnes on Friday.

Silver slid 0.4pc to $16.95 an ounce, platinum lost 0.1pc to $940.6 an ounce and palladium rose 0.9pc to $750.5 an ounce.

-Reuters