Gold edges lower as dollar firms, Fed speakers in focus

Gold inched lower in early Asian hours on Tuesday as the dollar staged a rebound, although bullion prices were stuck in a tight range with investors staying on the sidelines ahead of comments from Federal Reserve officials including Chair Jerome Powell.

FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,975.35 per ounce by 0116 GMT and U.S. gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,982.10.


* The dollar rose 0.1% after hitting a six-week low in the previous session, making gold more expensive for other currency holders. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields were at 4.6327%.

* Investors will be waiting to see if Powell, who is due to speak on Wednesday and Thursday, maintains the more dovish tone he struck after the Fed's policy meeting last week.

* Fed Governor Lisa Cook said on Monday she hopes the central bank's current target interest rate is adequate to return inflation to the Fed's 2% target.

* Meanwhile, Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said the U.S. central bank likely has more work ahead of it to control inflation.

* Futures see the Fed's overnight lending rate staying above 5% through next June.

* Although gold is seen as a hedge against inflation, higher interest rates dull non-yielding bullion's appeal.

* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.50% to 867.57 tonnes on Monday from 863.24 tonnes on Friday.

* In the Middle East, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would consider "tactical little pauses" in Gaza fighting to facilitate the entry of aid or the exit of hostages.

* Spot silver fell 0.3% to $22.95 per ounce, platinum eased 0.1% to $904.34 and palladium slipped 0.3% to $1,103.16.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0300 China Exports, Imports YY Oct 0300 China Trade Balance Oct 0330 Australia RBA Cash Rate Nov 0700 Germany Industrial Output MM Sept 0700 Germany Industrial Production YY SA Sept 0700 UK Halifax House Prices MM, YY Oct 1330 US International Trade Sept