<p>Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday as the dollar pulled back slightly, but mounting worries over aggressive US rate hikes to control soaring inflation kept bullion near a one-month low.</p>.<p>Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $1,738.79 per ounce, as of 0325 GMT, after hitting its lowest since July 27 at $1,727.01 on Monday. US gold futures gained 0.1 per cent to $1,750.50.</p>.<p>The dollar eased 0.1 per cent against its rivals after hitting a more than one-month high in the previous session, making gold less expensive for buyers holding other currencies.</p>.<p>"Concerns that Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver a hawkish message at the Jackson Hole Symposium alongside a recession warning has seen the US dollar surge and weigh on the yellow metal," said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.</p>.<p>"A clear indication that gold investors are concerned is that the CBOE gold volatility index and downside protection – via put options – are both on the rise. I'm on guard for further losses and for gold's potential to fall to $1,700."</p>.<p>Rapid Federal Reserve rate hikes since March and hawkish comments on further tightening have dented bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge. Gold prices have fallen more than $300 since scaling above the key $2,000-per-ounce level in early March.</p>.<p>Powell will address the annual global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, a highly anticipated speech that could signal how high US borrowing costs may go. Fed funds futures are now pricing in a 58.5 per cent chance of a 75-basis-point rate hike in September.</p>.<p>Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Indicative of sentiment, holdigs of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchannge-traded fund, fell 0.15 per cent to 987.56 tonnes on Monday. Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.2 per cent to $18.97 per ounce, platinum was steady at $875.81, and palladium climbed 1.4 per cent to $2,023.20. </p>
<p>Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday as the dollar pulled back slightly, but mounting worries over aggressive US rate hikes to control soaring inflation kept bullion near a one-month low.</p>.<p>Spot gold was up 0.2 per cent at $1,738.79 per ounce, as of 0325 GMT, after hitting its lowest since July 27 at $1,727.01 on Monday. US gold futures gained 0.1 per cent to $1,750.50.</p>.<p>The dollar eased 0.1 per cent against its rivals after hitting a more than one-month high in the previous session, making gold less expensive for buyers holding other currencies.</p>.<p>"Concerns that Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver a hawkish message at the Jackson Hole Symposium alongside a recession warning has seen the US dollar surge and weigh on the yellow metal," said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.</p>.<p>"A clear indication that gold investors are concerned is that the CBOE gold volatility index and downside protection – via put options – are both on the rise. I'm on guard for further losses and for gold's potential to fall to $1,700."</p>.<p>Rapid Federal Reserve rate hikes since March and hawkish comments on further tightening have dented bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge. Gold prices have fallen more than $300 since scaling above the key $2,000-per-ounce level in early March.</p>.<p>Powell will address the annual global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday, a highly anticipated speech that could signal how high US borrowing costs may go. Fed funds futures are now pricing in a 58.5 per cent chance of a 75-basis-point rate hike in September.</p>.<p>Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Indicative of sentiment, holdigs of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchannge-traded fund, fell 0.15 per cent to 987.56 tonnes on Monday. Elsewhere, spot silver fell 0.2 per cent to $18.97 per ounce, platinum was steady at $875.81, and palladium climbed 1.4 per cent to $2,023.20. </p>