Nov 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Tuesday as miners and banks rallied, with investors awaiting minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting this week to gauge the U.S. central bank' rate-hike path.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6% to 7,183.2 points, with most indexes trading higher. The benchmark fell 0.2% on Monday.

Aiding sentiment, a Fed official overnight stated the central bank could ease on its aggressive rate hike path from next month for the economy to get adjusted to the slew of interest-rate decisions taken.

"The Fed speakers suggested that they are potentially entering into a restrictive phase of the hiking cycle, because that means that they may look at not just slowing down, but also potentially pausing," Azeem Sheriff, a market analyst from CMC Markets said.

Australia's mining index was the top gainer on the benchmark, adding 0.9%, with the iron ore behemoths Rio Tinto and BHP Group advancing 0.7% and 0.9%.

The energy index followed suit, gaining about 1.8%, while domestic technology stocks rose 0.5%.

However, investors also took into account of weaker commodity prices overnight as China struggled with a resurgent COVID-19 wave, prompting lockdowns in prominent industrial hubs, thereby denting global demand outlook.

The financial sector, the second-biggest sector in the benchmark in terms of market value, traded 0.5% higher, with the country's largest banks rising between 0.1% and 1%.

The gold index was the outlier in the bourse, falling about 0.1%, as prices of the precious metal dropped owing to a stronger dollar.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4% to 11,393.1 points.

The country posted a monthly trade deficit of NZ$2.129 billion ($1.30 billion) in October. ($1 = 1.6364 New Zealand dollars) (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)