Jan 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices were little changed on Tuesday, as investors looked for interest rate hike cues from the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting, while safe-haven bullion was buoyed by risk-off trades over concerns of Russia-Ukraine discord.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was flat at $1,841.56 per ounce by 0117 GMT. U.S. gold futures were also steady at $1,842.90.
* NATO sent reinforcements and the United States put troops on alert as Ukraine tensions rose, while Britain said it was withdrawing some staff and dependents from its embassy in Ukraine, a day after the United States said it was ordering diplomats' family members to leave.
* Wall Street bounced back from a steep sell-off late in the session to close higher on Monday, with bargain hunters pushing the indexes into positive territory.
* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell to one-week lows on Monday, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing bullion.
* Investors are focused on the Fed's two-day policy meeting, which starts on Tuesday, amid expectations the central bank will signal that it planned to raise rates by 25 basis points in March.
* Gold is generally seen as an inflationary hedge, but it is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates, which increases the opportunity cost of holding non-interest bearing bullion.
* Sudan will expand its use of gold exports to cover imports of essential goods, as it embarks on a new 2022 budget without foreign aid during an economic downturn after a coup.
* Spot silver fell 0.8% to $23.77 an ounce. Palladium shed 0.6% to $2,134.69 and platinum was down 0.7% to $1,019.48.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0900 Germany Ifo Business Climate New 0900 Germany Ifo Curr Conditions New 0900 Germany Ifo Expectations New 1500 US Consumer Confidence (Reporting by Asha Sistla in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
