By Zhang Mengying
Investing.com – Gold was up on Tuesday morning in Asia over a weaker dollar, but prices were stuck in a tight range as investors shifted focus to a possible U.S. interest rate hike.
Gold futures jumped 0.27% to $1,723.75 by 11:31 PM ET (3:31 AM GMT).
The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, edged down on Tuesday morning. The dollar fell for a fourth straight session, down 0.1% against a basket of major currencies, as investors weighed the implications of a looming rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The Fed concludes its two-day meeting on Wednesday, where it is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points.
Elsewhere, The European Central Bank (ECB) joined its global peers to bring down soaring inflation and raised interest rates by 50 bps. It is expected to deliver another hike until inflation falls back to its 2% target.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.06% to 1,005.29 tons on Monday from 1,005.87 tons on Friday.
In other precious metals, silver jumped 0.51%. Platinum was up 0.92% while palladium inched up 0.09%.