Gold holds above $1,180 but firmer dollar weighs

Gold steadied on Wednesday after falling for a second straight month in March as renewed bets that the Federal Reserve is on course to lift interest rates this year burnished the dollar's appeal.

Bullion has dropped 3 percent since touching a three-week high last week, as the dollar gained momentum after Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday signaled a rate hike may be likely later this year amid continued improvements in U.S. economic conditions.

The Fed will have a "strong" case to hike interest rates in June, Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said, dismissing recently weak economic data as transitory and perhaps due to unseasonable weather.

U.S. consumer confidence rebounded strongly in March amid optimism over the labor market while house prices increased in January, hopeful signs that a recent sharp slowdown in economic activity was probably a blip.

Elsewhere, Greece failed to reach an initial deal with its troika of creditors deemed necessary to stave off bankruptcy. Describing Greece's proposal of austerity measures as a "list of ideas," rather than "a concrete plan," officials from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund dismissed the Greek package of reforms measures that are required to unlock critical aid.

Greece's inability to reach a deal with its creditors has stoked fears that it could leave the European Union and eventually default on its sovereign debt.