Gold futures edge up to near 1-week high

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Gold futures edged up on Tuesday to their highest in nearly a week, helped by a weaker rupee, which was not far from its record low. Silver also moved higher.

* The actively traded gold for August delivery on the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) was 0.60 percent higher at 28,037 rupees per 10 gram at 1:36 p.m., after hitting a high of 28,087 rupees earlier, the highest since June 13.

* The rupee, which was in the vicinity of its record low, plays an important role in determining the landed cost of the dollar-quoted yellow metal.

* However, in the overseas market, gold slipped for a second session as muted physical demand weighed on prices.

* Investors are closely watching the U.S. Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that begins later in the day as a string of healthy U.S. data has increased speculation the bank could scale back its bond-buying programme, hurting gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

* Silver for July delivery on the MCX was 0.72 percent higher at 43,912 rupees per kilogram.

* In the physical market, demand remained weak after the government raised import duty by a third to 8 percent, following a ban on consignment imports by the central bank.

* "There is no business due to off-season... Supplies will slow down in the coming months," said Haresh Acharya, head of bullion desk at Parker Bullion, a wholesaler in Ahmedabad.

* Gold imports fell from an average of $135 million in the first half of May to $36 million in the second half, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said.

(Reporting by Siddesh Mayenkar; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)