Gold prices lingered near their lowest level in almost two weeks on Tuesday, pressured by a firmer dollar and elevated Treasury yields, as traders lowered expectations of aggressive interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve this year.
Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $2,023.42 per ounce, after hitting its lowest since Jan. 25 in the previous session.
US gold futures fell 0.2 percent to $2,039.40 per ounce.
With Fed pushing back on rate cuts and strong economic data in the US nothing has been left to support gold other than geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, said Ajay Kedia, director at Kedia Commodities in Mumbai.
Two Fed officials said that the US central bank did not need to be overly concerned by recent higher-than-expected economic growth and employment figures and could take time before deciding to reduce interest rates, echoing Powell’s prudence in determining when to cut rates.
