US gold futures were flat on early Tuesday, backing off Monday's one-month high, and brokers saw little dramatic news - even the chance of a South African mining strike - to drive the market during a seasonally slow period.
Other precious metals were also a bit easier as the markets consolidated recent gains, even though platinum had reached a 15-month high in London earlier in the day.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX division, benchmark December gold was down 50 cents at $437.20 an ounce, trading from $436.60 to $438.80 at 9:50 am EDT.
"I don't think the market is anticipating that," one broker said of the possibility of gold production shortages if South African miners go on strike for the first time in 18 years. COMEX estimated volume touching just 20,000 contracts at 10 am.
Meanwhile, gold companies in South Africa, the biggest bullion producer in the world, faced the first country-wide strike in 18 years as early as Sunday, after wage talks broke down with miners' unions.
The strike would paralyse the South African mines of AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields and Harmony Gold - the world's second, fourth and sixth ranking gold producers - leading to a production loss of 28,000 ounces per day.
IFR Markets analyst Tim Evans in a weekly metals report pegged resistance in December gold at $441.30 and then at $451, with support seen at $427.70 and levels down to $421. Spot gold slipped slightly to $431.60/432.40 an ounce, from $431.90/2.60 late Monday in New York.
September silver was at $7.27 an ounce, down 3.5 cents. Spot silver touched $7.23/$7.26, from $7.26/29 at Monday's close.
October platinum slipped $6.20 to $904 an ounce, while spot was down to $899.50/905.50 from $904.00/910.00 on Monday.
September palladium rose 20 cents to $196 an ounce, with spot at $192/194.
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