By: Mahmoud Gamal

Mubasher: Gold prices rose early Thursday despite an increase in the value of the US dollar after the US Federal Reserve decided to increase interest rates by 0.25%.

By 03:10am GMT, spot gold grew 1.97% to $1,224.35 an ounce, while silver added 3.16% to $17.457 an ounce.

In the meantime, the dollar index edged up 0.09% to 100.45.

On Wednesday, the US Fed decided to raise interest rates to between 0.75% and 1.00%.

The Fed's statement indicated a state of unclarity regarding financial policy and noted that raising interest rates will be gradual, said Mahmoud Zakareya, commodity analyst at Sabayik Alkuwait.

He added that the Fed may increase rates once or twice more this year and this has helped gold prices hold after Wednesday's interest rate rise.

Technically, prices are currently "attractive" with gold targeting $1,230 an ounce, the analyst said.

Gold prices tend to receive a boost from political uncertainty in Europe, which will see upcoming elections in the Netherlands, France, and the triggering of Article 50 for Brexit, he added.