Gold prices ease on firmer Treasury yields

Gold eased on Tuesday after touching a six-week high in the previous session, as rising US Treasury yields and profit-taking weighed on prices, while investors awaited US economic data to gauge the Federal Reserve's policy path.

Spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $4,216.13 per ounce by 0436 GMT, after hitting its highest level since October 21 on Monday.

US gold futures for December delivery were down 0.7 percent at $4,246.60 per ounce.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields hovered close to a two-week high touched in the previous session, reducing the appeal of non-yielding bullion.

"Gold is having a soft performance today, but the fundamental picture has not changed - a picture which includes anticipated US rate cuts, which should be supportive of gold from a yield point of view," said KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer.

Markets are acting cautiously as Fed Chair Jerome Powell is not expected to sound as dovish as some of his colleagues, and the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index - the Fed's preferred measure of inflation - on Friday is expected to remain fairly benign, Waterer said.