Gold prices struggled for momentum in early Asian trade on Tuesday, as investors awaited comments from Federal Reserve officials for further cues about the U.S. interest rate trajectory.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was little changed at $2,611.79 per ounce, as of 0010 GMT. Prices gained 2% in the previous session, aided by a softer dollar and heightened concerns about the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

* U.S. gold futures were flat at $2,615.70.

* A slew of Fed officials are scheduled to speak this week. Recent strong economic data has raised concerns on whether the Fed will continue to cut rates, after 75 basis points of reductions since September.

* U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's proposed tariffs are seen as potential drivers of inflation, which could prompt the Fed to slow its rate-cutting pace.

* Higher interest rates tend to make non-yielding assets like bullion less attractive.

* A tight U.S. labour market is still adding to inflationary pressures, though less so than it did in 2022 and 2023, according to San Francisco Fed economists.

* Two top European Central Bank policymakers signalled they were more worried about the damage that expected new U.S. trade tariffs would do to economic growth in the euro zone than any impact on inflation.

* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.2% to 871.65 tonnes on Monday from 869.93 tonnes on Friday.

* Spot silver steadied at $31.14 per ounce, platinum was down 0.2% at $965.36 and palladium eased 0.1% to $1,004.05.

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)