New York: Gold rose on Tuesday as the dollar turned lower and global shares fell ahead of U.S. non-farm payroll data later in the week that could give clues as to when the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates.
Spot gold fell initially then firmed, and was up 0.4 percent at $1,192.80 an ounce by 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 GMT). U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled up $6.40 an ounce at $1,193.20.
"Gold was firm yesterday and is continuing the trend today, with dollar weakness helping," Deutsche Borse`s MNI senior analyst Tony Walters said.
Gold pared gains as the U.S. treasuries saw a wave of selling, traders said.
The dollar turned lower against a basket of major currencies while the euro steadied against the dollar after falling 0.7 percent. [FRX/]
"It bumped into $1,200 and then when the dollar began to turn around a little bit, it kind of undermined gold," said Jim Steel, chief metals analyst for HSBC Securities in New York.
"The weakening of the euro weighed on gold prices."
Gold fell to a six-week low of $1,170 on Friday after the Federal Reserve indicated it saw a slowdown in the U.S. economy as transitory and did not rule out a rate rise this year.
"U.S. data will continue to be very important - if it`s good, we will eventually get lower gold prices," Natixis analyst Bernard Dahdah said.
However, with a rate hike now likely in September rather than June, gold prices will probably remain in the current range for longer and will not drop as quickly as previously thought, Dahdah added.
Strong data could prompt the Fed to raise interest rates soon, a move investors would expect to dent demand for bullion, which does not pay interest.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans provided no clarity on the issue on Monday. He said rate increases could begin this year, although with inflation uncomfortably low and the unemployment rate still too high, the U.S. central bank should hold off on raising rates until early next year.
Silver rose 0.8 percent to $16.52 an ounce after climbing to a four-week high on Monday. Platinum rose 0.2 percent to $1,142.49 an ounce, while palladium gained 1.5 percent to $792.05 an ounce, the highest level since March.
