Gold stabilizes as traders await the path of US rate hike

There was little change in gold prices on Tuesday, as the dollar stabilized after recording its largest jump in two weeks in the previous session, while fears of a larger US rate hike by the Federal Reserve persisted.

And by 0553 GMT, gold settled in spot transactions at $ 1769.99 an ounce, and US gold futures contracts remained unchanged at $ 1781.20 an ounce.

Gold fell after hitting a five-month high, closing 1.6 percent lower as the dollar recovered after data fueled speculation that the US central bank may raise interest rates more recently than expected.

High-interest rates affect the attractiveness of gold because they raise the opportunity cost of owning the precious metal, which does not pay interest.

Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said that gold may jump in spot transactions to $ 1783 an ounce, before continuing its decline towards $ 1766 an ounce.

As for other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.5 percent to $22.37 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.1% to $998.63 an ounce. Palladium rose 0.5 percent to $1,885.75 an ounce.