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March 12 Reuters Gold prices remained under pressure on Tuesday, dropping as much as 1 at one point, after a hot U.S. inflation report dimmed prospects of the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates soon.

Spot gold fell 0.9 to 2,163.69 per ounce as of 922 a.m. ET 1322 GMT, retreating from a record high of 2,194.99 reached on Friday. U.S. gold futures also dipped 0.9 to 2,169.40.

U.S. consumer prices increased solidly in February, suggesting some stickiness in inflation. Data showed the Consumer Price Index CPI rose 0.4 on a monthly basis in February. Annually, it increased 3.2, above the 3.1 forecast.

CPI comes in a bit sweaty but the market was expecting a high print so the initial reaction was a bit muted but prices have been volatile since, said Tai Wong, a New Yorkbased independent metals trader.

He said gold bulls would still look for reasons to drive it higher. Now focus will shift to next week39;s Fed meeting where there will be an updated dot plot, Wong said, referring to central bankers39; interest rate forecasts.

The market is still pricing an around 70 chance of a U.S. rate cut by June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

Low interest rates help gold prices as they reduce the opportunity cost of holding the precious metal that earns no interest.

We do not expect a pronounced cycle of interest rate cuts in the U.S., given…