Gold struggles for momentum as investors await Fed policy cues; Spot gold hits $1,741.13 per ounce

Gold prices were flat in early Asian trade on Tuesday after declining about 1% in the previous session as US Federal Reserve officials signalled that interest rates would remain high to bring down inflation.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was flat at $1,741.13 per ounce, as of 0007 GMT. US gold futures were little changed at $1,739.60.

* The metal had hit a one-week high on Monday before closing lower for the first time in five sessions.

* New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Monday the US central bank needs to press forward with rate rises, even as he reckons a rate cut is possible in 2024 as inflation pressures likely ease.

* St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed needs to raise interest rates quite a bit further and then hold them there throughout next year and into 2024 to gain control of inflation.

* Investors now await remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who is due to speak at a Brookings Institution event on Wednesday.

* The ADP National Employment report and the US Labor Department's nonfarm payroll data are also due this week.

* Gold is sensitive to rising interest rates as they increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.

* The rare street protests that erupted in cities across China over the weekend were a referendum against President Xi Jinping's zero-COVID policy and the strongest public defiance during his political career, China analysts said.

* China's net gold imports in October via Hong Kong fell 45% from the previous month, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed.

* Spot silver slipped 0.1% to $20.90, platinum fell 0.2% to $986.92 and palladium rose 0.2% to $1,848.92.