Gold futures rose slightly Wednesday as the metal's investment appeal increased with the U.S. dollar sliding and with expectations that the meeting of the Group of 20 nations may not pull the world's economy out of recession. But rising U.S. stocks curbed gold's attractiveness and limited gains in prices. Gold for April delivery was last up 70 cents, or 0.1%, at $923.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The more active June contract was also up at $925.40. Trading stayed in a narrow range as investors remained cautious ahead of the G20 meeting on Thursday, when the dollar's status as the global reserve currency is expected to be discussed. The planned sale of 403 tons of gold by the International Monetary Fund is also expected to be discussed at the summit. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank said Wednesday it had completed the sale of 35.5 tons of gold. Investors were "waiting for a better sense of direction and some results from the London G20 summit," said Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Bullion Dealers. While gold was rising Wednesday, "the moves to higher ground were still seen as range-bound and not as the turning of a new page," he said. Wednesday's gain in gold came after it ended March trading down for the first month in five. The metal, however, rose 4.3% in the first quarter. In a report released Wednesday, analysts at Morgan Stanley said they remained bullish in gold in both short term and long term, owing largely to continued uncertainty in the global financial system and long-term inflation risks. "The risk of sustained quantitative easing ... will be long-term bullish for the gold market," they said in the report. In currencies trading Wednesday, the dollar was lower against most of its major rivals, with the dollar index down 0.3% at 85.481. A weaker greenback tends to push up dollar-denominated gold prices, though this pattern hasn't always held true in gold's recent trading. In equity trading, the S&P 500 index was last up 0.3% at 800.43. ECB gold sales The ECB announced Wednesday that its gold sales were in full conformity with the second Central Banks Gold Agreement, which was signed in 2004 by the ECB and other European major official gold holders. The ECB didn't elaborate how it plans to use the proceeds. The second CBGA, which caps total gold sales of the signatories at 500 tons a year, expires in September. Some analysts expect a third CBGA to be signed before September. See related story about central bank gold selling. The IMF has planned to sell 403 tons of gold to diversify its revenue and strengthen its balance sheet. Some investors are worried that the IMF sale could pressure gold prices, although the fund has said it plans to coordinate closely with CBGA signatories to minimize the impact of this large gold sale. Morgan Stanley's analysts said IMF gold sales are likely to be made "off-market" to help countries with huge dollar reserves, such as China, Japan and Russia, to diversify their reserve portfolio without disrupting the gold markets. In economic news Wednesday, U.S. private-sector firms cut 742,000 jobs in March, signaling another terrible employment report on Friday, according to the ADP employment index released Wednesday. See full story. In other metals trading Tuesday, silver for May delivery fell 0.4% to $12.935 an ounce. April platinum added 0.7% to $1,128.60 an ounce, and June palladium lost 0.6% to $217.50 an ounce. May copper sank 1.3% to $1.821 a pound.

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