Investing.com -- Gold futures were relatively unchanged on Tuesday amid a flat dollar, as widespread concerns related to economic growth in China and the timing of an interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve remained in focus.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold for December delivery traded in a broad range between $1,151.30 and $1,167.20 an ounce before settling at $1,164.90, up 0.40 or 0.03% on the session. At one point, gold inched up on Tuesday to fresh six-week highs, one session after eclipsing $1,165.00 an ounce for the first time since late-August. Over the last month of trading, the precious metal has gained more than 5% in value.
Gold likely gained support at $1,105.80, the low from Oct. 2 and was met with resistance at $1,169.00, the high from Aug. 24.
In a speech at the National Association for Business Economics annual conference on Tuesday morning, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis president James Bullard stood firm on his position that economic conditions nationwide are strong enough to allow the Federal Open Market Committee to approve an initial rate hike. While Bullard noted that liftoff is appropriate despite a litany of challenges, he emphasized that the challenges are not robust enough to guide policy decisions. In addition, Bullard argued that strict inflation targeting should not compel the Fed to hold rates at a zero-bound range, even if the U.S. central bank doesn't hit its 2% target in the near future.
Shortly after the FOMC voted to hold rates at its current near-zero level last month, Bullard asserted he would have voted against the decision in a scathing dissent.
Gold is not attached to interest rates and struggles to compete with high-yield bearing assets in rising rate environments.
Investors also continued to digest relatively hawkish comments from a host of central bankers over the weekend at the International Monetary Fund's Annual Meeting in Lima, urging the Fed to stop putting off an initial rate hike. Central bankers from two Emerging Markets in Asia believe a rate hike will reduce uncertainty in global foreign exchange markets, while Germany finance minister Jens Weidmann contends that a rate increase will lead to a stronger global economy. Days earlier, Weidmann told German newspaper Die Welt that conditions responsible for causing adverse effects to the global economy can intensify when "interest rates remain persistently low."
Separately, the Shanghai ticked up 5.57 or 0.17% on Tuesday to close at 3,293.23. On Monday, the People's Bank of China introduced fresh stimulus measures, extending a pilot program to Chinese banks launched earlier last year. The program gives banks the option of refinancing highly-rated credit assets, increasing their ability to lend. Also on Tuesday, trade data indicated that Chinese imports fell approximately 20% last month due primarily to weak demand.
China is the world's largest producer of gold and the second-largest consumer of the precious metal.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, stood at 94.75 in U.S. afternoon trading, down 0.14% on the session. At one point on Tuesday, the index fell to a fresh three-week low at 94.58.
Silver for December delivery gained 0.051 or 0.32% to 15.915 an ounce.
Copper for December delivery fell 0.028 or 1.16% to 2.387 a pound.