Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange continued its downturn on Tuesday as it is widely expected that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark rates soon.

The most active gold contract for August delivery fell 0.30 U.S. dollar, or 0.02 percent, to settle at 1,268.60 dollars per ounce.
 
The Fed started its two-day meeting on Tuesday. Announcement of another rate hike on Wednesday is expected by many investors.

According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.75 to 1.0 is at 95.8 percent at the end of the Fed's scheduled June meeting.

Higher interest rate is negative for gold, as it will pressure the appeal of the precious metal. But gold futures pared much of their earlier losses on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 78.53 points, or 0.37 percent, as of 1656 GMT. Analysts note that when equities post gains, the precious metal usually goes down.

Silver for July delivery dropped 17.7 cents, or 1.04 percent, to close at 16.767 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery fell 20.3 dollars, or 2.15 percent, to close at 924.2 dollars per ounce.