Gold prices were flat on Wednesday as focus shifted to minutes from the US Federal Reserve's meeting for fresh clues on the monetary policy path.

Spot gold was little changed at $4,159.62 per ounce by 0038 GMT. US gold futures for December delivery steadied at $4,187.30.

Minutes of the September Federal Open Market Committee meeting are due later in the day.

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly on Tuesday said she supported September's interest-rate hike in the face of rising inflation risks, but feels that whether more are needed depends largely on whether the shocks that have been pushing up on inflation look set to fade or, conversely, continue to compound.

Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said the Fed still needs to raise its policy rate further to lower inflation even if higher long-term yields are weighing on activity in some parts of the economy.

Recent soft economic data has reduced expectations of a rate hike in October, though traders still see an 85% chance of an increase in December.

In a high interest rate environment, investors tend to favor yield-generating assets over gold.

The price of gold is expected to hit $5,013 a troy ounce over the next 12 months, delegates to the London Bullion Market Association's (LBMA) annual gathering in Sorrento, Italy, predicted on Tuesday.

US Vice President JD Vance said in an exclusive interview with Reuters that Iran must make a "meaningful" reduction in its nuclear enrichment capacity to satisfy US demands and end the country's seven-month war, even as Washington was unsure how Tehran makes decisions in negotiations.

Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.6% to $61.32, platinum rose 0.4% to $1,707.65 and palladium lost 0.1% to $1,170.75.

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0645 France Reserve Assets Total Sep