• Spot gold was 1.1 percent lower at $1,226.91 per ounce by 1:36 p.m. EDT (1736 GMT), having earlier hit its lowest since last July at $1,225.58. The metal is down more than 5 percent for the year.
• U.S. gold futures for August delivery settled down $12.40, or 1 percent, at $1,227.30 per ounce.
• Gold declined more than 1 percent and hit its lowest in a year on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened during testimony by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to the U.S. Congress.
• Powell offered an upbeat view of the U.S. economy in an appearance before the Senate Banking Committee, with markets expecting two more interest rate increases this year amid a continued economic expansion.
• "The dollar is really reacting to this 'goldilocks' effect of the economy and a slowly rising interest rate environment. That is usually a recipe for a stronger dollar," said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures in Chicago.
• The International Monetary Fund warned on Monday that escalating trade tensions following U.S. tariff actions threaten to depress medium-term growth prospects.
• The comments came as China reported slower second quarter growth, though Beijing said that would not affect its 2018 growth target.
• UBS economists lowered their estimates for Chinese growth to take into account trade war escalation.
• "If China is slowing down, there will be consequences to global commodity consumption and that's going to drag gold down as well," said Richard Xu, a fund manager at China's biggest gold exchange-traded fund, HuaAn Gold.
"Chinese gold ETF liquidity has dropped a lot these days so that means people do not see any major breakthrough in either direction," Xu added.
• Demand for gold in top-consumer China has been weak as an ongoing trade dispute with United States has weakened the local currency.
• Spot gold could break support levels at $1,220 and the psychologically-important $1,200, said Josh Graves of RJO Futures.
• Silver fell 0.9 percent to $15.60 an ounce, dipping to $15.51, its lowest since July 2017.
• Platinum fell 1.2 percent to $812 an ounce, hitting a two-week low at $808.89. Palladium fell 0.4 percent to $913.50 per ounce, sliding to $905.05, its lowest since April 9.
Reference: Reuters
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