WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, as traders awaited Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's testimony to Congress on July 10 & 11.
However, the dollar's continued strength limited the yellow metal's gains.
The dollar index advanced to 97.59 and despite paring some gains subsequently, was still up more than 0.1%, at 97.50.
Gold futures for August ended up $0.50, or about 0.4%, at $1,400.50 an ounce, recovering from the day's low of $1,387.50.
Silver futures for September ended up $0.097, at $15.147 an ounce, while Copper futures for September settled lower by $0.0340, at $2.6250 per pound.
Powell's testimony to Congress is eagerly awaited by investors as it is likely to offer clues about the outlook for interest rate cuts in the near-term.
Powell, who spoke at a conference Tuesday morning regarding recent stress tests for banks, did not make any comment on monetary policy.
The minutes of the Fed's last monetary policy meeting, to be released tomorrow, may shed additional light on the central bank's decision to make notable changes to its accompanying statement.
On the trade front, the U.S. and China are scheduled to resume trade talks this week.
In economic news, a report released by the Federal Reserve showed consumer credit in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of May, reflecting notable growth in both revolving and non-revolving credit.
The Fed said consumer credit surged up by $17.1 billion in May after jumping by $17.5 billion in April. Economists had expected consumer credit to climb by $16.7 billion.
Compared to the same month a year ago, consumer credit in May was up by 5%, as revolving credit spiked by 8.2% and non-revolving credit rose by 3.9%.
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