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Gold was mostly unchanged on Tuesday after hitting a two-week low in the previous session as the market waited for more clues from the U.S. Federal Reserve later this week on whether it will raise rates this year.

"We likely will see more weakness in the precious group at least until Fed Chair Yellen provides a little more clarity about the future course of interest rates on Friday," INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir said in a note. "Weaker charts patterns will likely be another negative, particularly in silver, which has now opened up a gap on charts," said Meir.

The surprising rebound in gold prices this year has given new life to unwanted jewelry, coins and trinkets -- in the melting pot.

More than a third of the world’s bullion supply usually comes from recycled metal, but purchases at pawn shops and cash-for-gold companies had slowed during a three-year slump in the market. That’s all changed. With prices headed for their biggest annual gain since 2010, more people are unloading old treasures, recyclers are expanding capacity and some jewelers are seeing their businesses transformed.

But in the first six months of the year, recycling is up about 10 percent from the same period in 2015, heading for the first annual increase since 2009, Gold Council data show. Prices have jumped 26 percent in 2016, touching a two-year high of $1,375.34 an ounce in July, and had their biggest first-half rally since 1974. Bullion traded at $1,338 on Tuesday.

The stash of gold, silver and gems stored in the vaults and safe deposit boxes of Malca-Amit in Singapore has jumped almost 90 percent in the past year as wealthy investors seek a refuge in a world of negative interest rates, stagnating economies and political uncertainty.

“We’re seeing a trend where high net-worth individuals are looking to diversify their portfolio into tangible assets like precious metals, precious stones,” said 41-year-old Kohelet, who’s been with the company for 12 years. “This is mostly to preserve and protect their wealth. They’re looking into places like Hong Kong and Singapore as places they deem to be safe.”

The company’s facilities in the city-state are about 70 percent full and more than 90 percent of the hoard comprises precious metals, according to Ariel Kohelet, managing director of Malca-Amit Singapore Pte, a logistics and storage provider, without giving specific figures. Revenue has grown at least 45 percent in 2016 from a year earlier, he said in an interview last week.

Reference: Bloomberg, Reuters