Bullion hit a record high of 2,449.89 on Monday
Analyst says strong fundamentals, industrial demand makes silver attractive
Fed minutes due on Wednesday

May 21 Reuters Gold prices eased on Tuesday as the dollar firmed, with the metal backing away from a record peak hit in the previous session on bullish factors such as growing U.S. rate cut bets and geopolitical risks driving safehaven demand.

Spot gold was down 0.5 at 2,413.69 per ounce, as of 0538 GMT, after hitting a record high of 2,449.89 on Monday.

U.S. gold futures fell 0.9 at 2,417.10.

The dollar rose 0.1 making greenbackpriced bullion less attractive to buyers holding other currencies.

Lower interest rates and geopolitical uncertainties make bullion a favourable investment.

Market expectations of interest rate cuts starting this year have gone up a bit with the cooling inflation numbers that came in last week. On the other side, geopolitical risks played a major role in pushing gold prices to a fresh record high, said ANZ commodity strategist Soni Kumari.

China buying has been exceptional in the first quarter with their bar and coin demand being very strong, recording its highest since 2017. These factors are offsetting the investment outflows in ETFs exchange traded funds and pushing prices higher.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve39;s last policy meeting due on Wednesday along with comments from a slew of Fed speakers will be keenly awaited this week.

Adding to gold39;s upside was elevated risk…