Shafaq News/ Gold prices barely moved on Tuesday, as investors waited for a US inflation report that could shed light on the timing of the Federal Reserve's first rate cut.
Spot gold was steady at $2,018.71 per ounce (Oz) at 0424 GMT, after briefly dropping to a more than two-week low of $2,011.72/Oz on Monday.
US gold futures were also stable at $2,032.30/Oz.
Trading volume was likely to be low with markets in China and Hong Kong shut for the Lunar New Year holidays.
Spot gold could test the support level of $2,012/Oz, and a fall below that could pave the way for $2,002/Oz, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.
Traders expect four quarter-point rate cuts by the US central bank this year, with a 62% probability of the first one in May, according to LSEG's Interest Rate Probability app.
Spot platinum was unchanged at $888.89 per ounce, palladium climbed 1.5% to $905.71, and silver rose 0.1% to $22.71.
The focus was on the January U.S. consumer price index (CPI) inflation data due at 13:30 GMT. A New York Fed survey showed that Americans had a relatively stable inflation outlook at the beginning of the year.
Economists surveyed by Reuters forecast year-on-year CPI at 2.9% in January, down from 3.4% in December, and core CPI at 3.7%, down from 3.9% in the previous month.
(REUTERS)