Precious-Gold ticked down on Tuesday to hover below four-month low as investors remain cautioned until getting clear clues about the future of the Fed’s stimulus taper.
Still, uncertainty looms about the pace of stimulus reduction by the Fed after the recent downbeat data from the United States that signaled recovery may be losing steam.
Fed minutes, however, revealed that policymakers would cut their monthly bond purchases by $10-billion steps unless the economy shows any deterioration in economic data.
Hence, investors will keep their eyes open on the latest update from U.S. data.
Later in the day, a report may show consumer confidence retreated to 80.0 in February from a prior of 80.7.
Gold may end this month on another gain, taking advantage of haven demand after the latest rout in emerging market, which was ignited last week with the political turmoil on Ukraine.
Ukraine’s acting President Oleksander Turchinov said his country was close to default, amid signs of slowdown in China, the world’s biggest bullion buyer.
Meanwhile, the yellow metal is trading around $1333.23 an ounce after hitting a high of $1338.06 and a low of $1332.01.
So far, gold has recorded nearly 11 percent advance this year, following last year’s 28 percent drop.
The U.S. dollar retreated for a third day against a basket of major currencies to hover around 80.20 after opening at 80.29, according to the dollar index.
Crude oil for April’s delivery slipped to trade around $102.30 a barrel after setting a high of $102.80.