MTS Help Center

• Gold prices crept lower on Tuesday on afirmer dollar as investors waited for U.S. consumer price datadue later in the day to gauge the outlook for inflation and the Federal Reserve's rate hike stance.

Spot gold dipped 0.1 percent to $1,321.34 per ounce at 0359 GMT.

U.S. gold futures for April delivery rose 0.1 percent to $1,321.60 per ounce.

• "Gold traders are adopting a more neutral stance ... While aMarch hike is fully priced in, traders usually get a bit anxiousawaiting the Fed statement and key forward guidance," saidStephen Innes, APAC trading head at OANDA.

"We should expect interest rate uncertainty to weigh onprices over the short term."

• The U.S. government is expected to release consumer priceindex (CPI) data at GMT, a key focus for the day. Themedian forecast by economists polled by Reuters points to annual core CPI inflation of percent in February, which would be flat from January. 1230 1.8

• Any outcome above expectations will put gold under pressure,said Richard Xu, a fund manager at HuaAn Gold, China's biggest gold exchange-traded fund.

In the longer term, Xu expected gold to be range bound this year, although an expected slowdown in the Chinese economy will provide support.

• Spot gold looks neutral in a range of perounce and an escape could suggest a direction, according toReuters Technical analyst, Wang Tao.$1,318-$1,327

• In other precious metals, silver rose percent to per ounce.0.2 $16.52

Platinum fell 0.4 percent, to $959.00 per ounce, the highest since Sept. 8, while palladium remained unchanged at $978.50 per ounce.