Gold climbed to $1,080.60 (+0.62%) but stabilizing U.S. stocks kept a lid on gains. Rising stock prices encourage investors to go for higher yield and abandon the non-interest-paying precious metal. Expectations of further rate increases by the Federal Reserve this year are also a bearish factor for gold.

Assets of SPDR Gold Trust, world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, rose by 2.4 tonnes on Wednesday, raising the total inflow for the year to 11.7 tonnes.