Gold prices in the UAE slipped below Dh220 per gram on Wednesday morning.

The Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group data showed 24k opening at Dh219.75 per gram at the opening of the market on Wednesday as compared to Tuesday’s close of Dh220.0.

Among the other variants of the yellow metal, 22K opened at Dh206.5 per gram, 21K at Dh197.0 and 18K at Dh168.75.

Gold eased lower overnight as the US dollar maintained strength and US yields moved higher. Gold finished 0.60 per cent lower at $1808.50 an ounce as the tears of gold bugs washed away its one-month gains, said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at Oanda.

Globally, the precious metal prices were slightly up on Wednesday morning ahead of a potentially aggressive interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve as it seeks to combat inflation amid mounting fears of an impending recession.

Spot gold was up 0.16 per cent at $1,813.85 per ounce as of 9.12am UAE time.

The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to announce its decision on interest rates at 1800 GMT (10pm UAE time) today.

Investors have dramatically raised their bets that the Fed will raise interest rates by 75 basis points (bps) rather than 50 bps, a swing in expectations which has fuelled a violent selloff across world markets.

"In our opinion, it is more likely to expect the gold price to rally before the session (Fed announcement), stay stable and then over the course of the following week continue its downward trend," said Michael Langford, director at corporate advisory AirGuide.