Gold steady amid rising risk appetite and U.S. rate-hike prospects

By Maytaal Angel

LONDON (Reuters) - Gold prices were little changed on Tuesday as investor focus shifted to bullish global economic fundamentals and away from trade concerns, helping lift equities and keeping the dollar steady near a six month high.

Investors are awaiting economic data that might confirm the U.S. economy is on track for a strong June quarter, with rising bond yields also supporting the greenback and making dollar priced gold costlier for non-U.S. investors.

Spot gold was flat at $1,292.23 per ounce by 0943 GMT. It is down 0.5 percent so far this month having fallen 1.3 percent in May.

U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down 0.1 percent at $1,296.20 per ounce.

"Prices have been dropping since May in anticipation of a Fed rate hike. There's still some strengthening of the dollar to come. Geopolitics is on the backburner," said Bernard Dahdah, precious metals analyst at Natixis.

Stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data released on Friday, fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates at its policy meeting starting on June 12.

Higher interest rates boost the dollar and reduce investor interest in non-yielding bullion.

A strong reading on ISM non-manufacturing PMI for May later this session will seal the case for another rate hike at its policy meeting next week, following up on a rate hike in March and might even prompt the Fed to strike a hawkish stance.

"There is lack of interest in gold. It is more interesting for equities and people are making profit there, so nobody wants to trade in gold for the time being," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

Asian stocks steadied as investors paused for breath after the previous day's rally, although tech-inspired Wall Street gains supported broader bullish sentiment.

Spot gold is still targeting the May 21 low of $1,281.76 per ounce, as its bounce from this level has completed, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

In other precious markets, silver stood at $16.39 an ounce.

Platinum fell 0.6 percent at $894.90 an ounce. It earlier hit a low of $891.25, the lowest since May 21.

Palladium was 0.3 percent lower at $990.80 per ounce. The metal rose to a six-week high of $1,010.50 in the previous session.

(Additional reporting by Karen Rodrigues and Swati Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)