Gold fell on Tuesday after its previous session's six-week high, as the euro paused its recent rallies after European talks to restructure Greek debt faltered, and ahead of a key policy statement by the US Federal Reserve. Gold fell along with decline in equities and crude oil, as Greece appeared to move closer to a possible chaotic default when euro zone officials rejected a final offer from the country's private bondholders.
Spot gold was last down 0.7 percent on the day at $1,665.10 an ounce at 2:27 pm EST (1927 GMT). US gold futures for February delivery settled down $13.80 at $1,664.50 an ounce. Volume was slightly above its 30-day average, despite the Lunar New Year holiday in China and muted activity in top consumer India whose import duties on gold were nearly doubled last week. In other precious metals, silver was down 1.1 percent on the day at $31.97 an ounce. Palladium fell 1.2 percent on the day to $676.50 an ounce, while platinum fell 1.1 percent to $1,541.49 an ounce.