Gold prices slipped on Wednesday as dollar held its gains on the back of upbeat U.S. housing and industrial output data.

Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange was down $3.8, or 0.3%, to $1,345.7 a troy ounce by 12:52AM ET (04:52 GMT).

Housing starts climbed 1.9% to 1.319 million units, data on Tuesday showed. Separately, the Federal Reserve said industrial production rose 0.5% in March after jumping 1.0% in February.

Meanwhile, the dollar remained steady in Asia on Wednesday morning and gained slightly against other major Asian currencies. A hawkish speech from Fed official John Williamson Tuesday reassured rate hikes this year, and eyes are on U.S.-Japan meeting this week to look for cues, with talks over trade and an upcoming summit with North Korea that could ease geopolitical strains in East Asia.

The U.S. dollar index that tracks the greenback against a basket of six major currencies steadied at 89.22.

Dollar-denominated assets such as gold are sensitive to moves in the dollar – a gain in the dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency and thus decreases demand for the precious metal.