Nov 29 (Reuters) - Gold prices were flat in early Asian trade on Tuesday after declining about 1% in the previous session as U.S. Federal Reserve officials signalled that interest rates would remain high to bring down inflation.
FUNDAMENTALS
* Spot gold was flat at $1,741.13 per ounce, as of 0007 GMT. U.S. gold futures were little changed at $1,739.60.
* The metal had hit a one-week high on Monday before closing lower for the first time in five sessions.
* New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Monday the U.S. central bank needs to press forward with rate rises, even as he reckons a rate cut is possible in 2024 as inflation pressures likely ease.
* St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed needs to raise interest rates quite a bit further and then hold them there throughout next year and into 2024 to gain control of inflation.
* Investors now await remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who is due to speak at a Brookings Institution event on Wednesday.
* The ADP National Employment report and the U.S. Labor Department's nonfarm payrolls data are also due this week.
* Gold is sensitive to rising interest rates as they increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-yielding asset.
* The rare street protests that erupted in cities across China over the weekend were a referendum against President Xi Jinping's zero-COVID policy and the strongest public defiance during his political career, China analysts said.
* China's net gold imports in October via Hong Kong fell 45% from the previous month, Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department data showed.
* Spot silver slipped 0.1% to $20.90, platinum fell 0.2% to $986.92 and palladium rose 0.2% to $1,848.92.
DATA/EVENTS (GMT, Nov)
1000 EU Consumer Confid. Final
1300 Germany CPI Prelim YY
1300 Germany HICP Prelim YY
1500 US Consumer Confidence (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
