FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was little changed at $1,746.60 per ounce, as of 0126 GMT, after rising 0.7% in the previous session.
* U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,758.20.
* The dollar rose 0.2% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for buyers holding other currencies. [USD/]
* Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were hovering near a more than one-month high hit in the previous session. [US/]
* Focus turns to Powell's speech at the annual global central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming on Friday for more clarity on future interest rate hikes.
* The U.S. central bank has raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by 225 basis points in total since March to contain inflationary pressures.
* Data showed sales of new U.S. single-family homes plunged to a 6-1/2-year low in July, while a survey from S&P Global showed its measure of private sector business activity fell to a 27-month low, suggesting Fed efforts to tame inflation were working.
* Higher interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
* Business activity in the euro zone contracted for a second straight month in August as the cost of living crisis forced consumers to cut spending while supply constraints also hurt manufacturers, a survey showed.
* SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.32% to 984.38 tonnes on Tuesday from 987.56 tonnes on Monday. [GOL/ETF]
* Spot silver fell 0.4% to $19.08 per ounce, platinum was steady at $879.72, and palladium rose 0.8% to $1,995.70.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT)
1230 US Durable Goods July
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
