Gold prices moved below their highs in early trading on Tuesday, after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell downplayed expectations for a large interest rate cut this year, with investors looking ahead to a slew of labor data this week for further clarity.
Update prices
Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $2,641.33 per ounce by 0521 GMT, retreating from a high of $2,685.42 hit on Thursday.
U.S. gold futures rose 0.2 percent to $2,663.10.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell indicated on Monday that the US central bank will likely seek to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point in the future and that it is in no rush after new data boosted confidence in continued economic growth and consumer spending.
This week's data includes employment and non-farm payrolls in the United States, which are expected to shed light on the strength of the US labor market.
Federal Reserve officials are also expected to speak and U.S. job openings data is due later Tuesday.
According to the CME Group's FedWatch service, investors in the market expect a 62 percent chance of a 25 basis point rate cut in November, up from 47 percent on Friday.
Lower interest rates add to the appeal of non-yielding gold. The yellow metal posted its best quarterly gain since 2020 on Monday after the Federal Reserve kicked off its easing cycle by cutting interest rates by half a percentage point at its September meeting.
Among other precious metals, spot silver rose 0.7 percent to $31.36 an ounce. Platinum rose 0.9 percent to $984.95. Palladium was steady at $1,000.
