Gold fell on Wednesday, as the combination of a firm dollar and weak oil prices left the metal on track for its third consecutive annual loss. Bullion has lost 10 percent of its value this year, largely on concerns that higher US interest rates would hurt demand for the non-yielding asset. Spot gold dipped 0.8 percent to $1,060.10 an ounce by 2:38 pm EST (1938) GMT, while US gold futures settled down $8.20 an ounce at $1,059.80. Trading volumes were muted in the holiday-shortened week.

The rest of the precious metals complex also dropped, with platinum down 2 percent at $869.51 an ounce after hitting a two-week low of $850.50 an ounce, having fallen through a technical support level around $860. "Physical demand in gold continues to be relatively aggressive in the Far East compared with October and November, and on that basis gold should be much higher, but there seems to be this pressure from the dollar, which continues to put a lid on the price," MKS SA head of trading Afshin Nabavi said.

"It looks like support is at $1,045 and $1,050, and resistance stands at $1,085/$1,095." With little market-moving data due this week, bullion traders will rely on cues from the currency and oil markets, analysts said. Silver fell 1percent to $13.81 an ounce, on track for a 12 percent yearly fall, while palladium lost 2 percent to $543.50 an ounce. The metal was heading for the first yearly loss in four years, down nearly 30 percent.

Copyright Reuters, 2016