Gold was little changed on Tuesday as interest-rate hike worries prompted the market to take a breather, but Western air strikes on Libya and escalating political unrest in other Arab countries underpinned safe-haven demand. Gold trimmed initial gains, following the euro, but the metal stayed within striking distance of its record $1,444.40 an ounce set on March 7.
Spot gold inched up 0.1 percent at $1,425.95 an ounce by 2:56 pm EDT (1856 GMT). US most-active April futures settled up 0.1 percent to $1,427.60 with volume at about one-fifth lower than its 30-day average. On the charts, a rising channel dated back to January indicates gold will target above record $1,500 an ounce after it breaches resistance area between $1,445 and $1,466, said Rick Bensignor, chief market strategist of Dahlman Rose. Spot silver rose 0.9 percent to $36.36 an ounce, just a few cents away from its 31-year high of $36.70 last reached in early March. Spot platinum eased 0.2 percent at $1,737.99 an ounce, while palladium lost 1.2 percent to $736.