China's major state-owned banks were seen buying US dollars at around 6.4 yuan in the Asian afternoon in a move viewed as an effort to cool the rally in the onshore yuan, sources said.
Spot gold rose 0.8pc to $1,896.74 per ounce by 1:42 p.m. EDT (1742 GMT), having earlier hit its highest since Jan. 8 at $1,898.40. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.7pc at $1,898.
Ahead on Tuesday is a German business survey, a series of US housing updates and a handful of policymaker speeches in Europe, Britain and the United States, which will all be parsed for a reading on inflation.
The dollar was down 0.2pc. U.S Treasury yields fell to the lowest in nearly two weeks, reducing the opportunity cost of holding non-interest paying bullion.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.17 percent, or 46.78 points, to 28,364.61, while the broader Topix index rose 0.44 percent, or 8.35 points, to 1,913.04.