Spot gold was slightly stronger in early afternoon trade today on the back of a weaker dollar. The market was quiet, however, as players awaited the release of the minutes of the last US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting which could give the dollar direction.

In early afternoon, gold was quoted at $617,06 a troy ounce from an overnight close of $613,45/oz. The euro was bid at $1,2802 from $1,2784 late yesterday.

"Gold has just strengthened on a bit of dollar weakness," said a market analyst.

She said that everyone was waiting for information out of the US, particularly the minutes of FOMC meeting held earlier this month.

Should the dollar weaken further on the release of the minutes, gold could extend its gains. This month’s meeting saw US interest rates left on hold after 17 consecutive rate increases.

"I still think there is going to be room for gold to improve on the back of oil moving higher over the next few weeks," said the analyst.

Platinum was quoted at $1,221,50/oz, up $7 from its overnight close. Palladium was unchanged at $339,50/oz.