Gold prices hovered near a three-month high in early Tuesday trading, supported by weak U.S. manufacturing and construction spending, while investors awaited testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and key jobs data due this week.
The London Bullion Market Association said the London gold benchmark hit an all-time high of $2,098.05 an ounce at an auction on Monday afternoon, surpassing the previous record of $2,078.40 set on Dec. 28.
Market focus is on US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony before Congress on Wednesday and Thursday.
Other economic data due this week that could help determine the direction of U.S. interest rate cut expectations include services data from the Institute for Supply Management at 1500 GMT, the jobs and labor turnover survey on Wednesday, and the nonfarm payrolls report on Friday.
Data last week showed U.S. manufacturing fell further in February and inflation eased gradually, while consumer sentiment remained weak.
Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said Monday the Fed is under no immediate pressure to cut interest rates given the buoyant economy and labor market, in comments that highlighted the risk that inflation could remain above the central bank's 2 percent target or rise further through pent-up exuberance.
Traders now see a 65 percent chance of a U.S. rate cut in June, according to LSEG's interest rate forecasting app.
Lower interest rates will increase demand for non-yielding bullion.
Price change
Spot gold was down 0.1 percent at $2,112.39 an ounce by 0230 GMT, but hovered near Monday's $2,119.69, its highest since Dec. 4. U.S. gold futures were down 0.3 percent at $2,120.50.
Among other precious metals, platinum fell 0.7 percent to $890.90 an ounce, palladium fell nearly 1 percent to $951.12, and silver fell 0.9 percent to $23.68.
