The photo has been used for illustrative purposes.

Gold prices slipped on Tuesday as the US dollar firmed, while investors awaited more comments from Federal Reserve officials for further clarity on the timeline for potential interest rate cuts.

Spot gold was down 0.5 per cent to $2,312.29 per ounce by 1218 GMT. US gold futures fell 0.5 per cent to $2,320.60 per ounce.

The dollar index gained 0.2 per cent against its rivals, making gold less attractive for other currency holders.

“Gold is definitely overbought and some of that profits are now been taken out of the market, so it’s very much in consolidation mode,” StoneX analyst Rhona O’Connell said.

“I still think that the tailwinds particularly with respect to geopolitical risk and potential stresses in the banking system, are strong enough to give gold support rather than to reverse the moves that we saw across margin into April.”

Gold hit a record high of $2,431.29 on April 12 due to strong purchases by central banks and demand from Chinese retail investors amid growing geopolitical tensions.

China’s central bank added 60,000 troy ounces of gold to its reserves in April, its data showed, extending the period of consecutive purchases to 18 months despite high prices.

Investors now look forward to comments from Fed officials set to speak this week, including Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari later in the day. Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Monday the current interest rate level should cool the economy enough to return inflation to the central bank’s 2 per cent target.