The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that gold declined after the Federal Reserve kept borrowing costs steady and offered few clues on its next move, leaving open the prospect of a rate hike before year-end. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that bullion fell as much as 1.3 per cent to near $4,015 an ounce, reversing three days of modest gains. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 in favour of holding interest rates steady, while Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said the Fed would likely reduce the number of rate decisions to six from eight per year -- a move that analysts said could foster uncertainty. For gold traders, the Fed's decision on Wednesday was largely expected. The wider market has priced in a rate hike in December, as stubbornly high energy prices complicate efforts to rein in inflation. Tighter monetary policy is a headwind for gold, which doesn't pay interest. The United States Personal Consumption Expenditures price index came in broadly in line with ex pectations on Thursday, leaving little impact on gold. With bullion poised near the $4,000-an-ounce threshold for much of this week, investors "are in a wait-and-see mode," said Saxo Bank commodity strategy head Ole Sloth Hansen.