Gold cut some earlier gains on Tuesday, as the dollar hit a four-month high after data showed a surge in U.S. housing starts in June, although weaker equities provided support.
U.S. homes surged 4.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.19 million units, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.
The recent rally in global equity prices faltered as investors pondered some disappointing earnings reports and signs that Britain's decision to leave the EU could hurt other economies.
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,331.10 an ounce by 3:25 p.m. EDT (1925 GMT), off a session high of $1,334.88. U.S. gold settled up 0.2 percent at $1,332.3 per ounce.
Gold has risen almost 25 percent this year, hitting its highest since March 2014 at $1,374.71after Britain's vote on the EU.
Prices have since retreated, hit by a series of positive U.S. economic data.
"We saw better economic data coming out of the U.S., giving the Federal Reserve a bit more ammunition to raise interest rates, which could damage gold in the short term," said ETF Securities head of commodity research Nitesh Shah.
RBC are bullish on gold, citing elevated geopolitical uncertainty, higher systemic risk Forecast $1,500 an ounce in 2017 Same for 2018 For 2020 (the year, not the hindsight) they are at $1,300.
RBC cite heavy investor demand, expected to continue and Not expecting a Fed rate hike until mid 2017
More on gold, from ABN Amro: Expects gold to end 2017 at $1,450
Reference: Forexlive, Reuters
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