Gold slips, but holds near 2-week high

Gold eased on Tuesday as investors turned cautious after the metal failed to sustain a recent rally, though it held near the previous day’s two-week high after the Federal Reserve further dampened speculation about an imminent US rate rise. 
US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Monday provided a largely upbeat outlook for US economy and said interest rate increases were coming, but investors focused on her lack of guidance about when they would materialize. 
Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,238.81 an ounce at 1131 GMT, while US gold futures for June delivery were down $6.00 an ounce at $1,241.40. 
Spot gold hit its highest since May 24 on Monday at $1,248.40. 
Gold is highly sensitive to rising rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while boosting the dollar, in which the metal is priced. 
Among other precious metals, silver was down 1.3 percent at $16.23 an ounce, platinum was down 0.1 percent to $989.80 and palladium was 2.1 percent lower at $543.63.
After sliding 6 percent in May after Fed officials struck a more hawkish tone on rates, gold has risen about 2.4 percent so far this month as expectations for a summer rate rise faded.

Source: Arab News