Spot gold fell 1.1% to $1,713.52 per ounce by 12:38 p.m. EDT (1638 GMT). U.S. gold futures fell 1.2% to $1,711.60.

"The gold and silver market bulls need a fundamental spark," said Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff, adding a resurgence in U.S. dollar and elevated yields are limiting buying interest.

The dollar index firmed against rivals, hurting gold's appeal for investors holding other currencies.[USD/] [.N]

The rapid recovery of the U.S. economy, with vaccine numbers ramping up and U.S. President Joe Biden's announcement this week, is a near term negative for gold prices, Wyckoff added.

Biden will release details on a infrastructure spending package that could be between $3 and $4 trillion on Wednesday.

Higher yields have also challenged gold's status as an inflation hedge since they translate into higher opportunity costs of holding the non-yielding bullion.

"We see virtually no scope for noticeably higher prices until mid-year, though gold should be able to make significant gains in the second half of the year," Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note.

Meanwhile, palladium slipped 5.3% to $2,532.30, having earlier dropped to an over one-week low of $2,515.

Russia's Nornickel Nickel, the world's largest palladium producer, said it had stopped water flowing into its two major mines in the Siberian Arctic and both were on track to fully resume production in coming months.

Palladium could outperform other precious metals given that a larger-than-anticipated disruption in the Arctic mines will further erode the global stockpile, TD Securities said in a note.

Platinum was down 0.2% at $1,182.42 per ounce and silver fell 1.4% to $24.69.

(Reporting by Shreyansi Singh and Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

By Shreyansi Singh