Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange settled lower on Tuesday amid a stronger U.S. dollar.

The most active gold contract for August delivery fell 1.5 dollars, or 0.12 percent, to close at 1278.60 U.S. dollars per ounce.

Trade tensions between the United States and China triggered sharp fall of equities on Tuesday. Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 309.30 points, or 1.24 percent to 24,678.17 points as of 1758 GMT.

However, the fall of stock market failed to push up gold prices as the U.S. dollar strengthened further.

The U.S. dollar index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, increased by 0.28 percent to 94.725 as of 1748 GMT.

Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall.

Analysts said that the dollar has found ample support amid increased expectations of more interest rate hikes later this year.

As for other precious metals, silver for July delivery fell 11.7 cents, or 0.71 percent, to settle at 16.323 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July was down 19 dollars, or 2.15 percent, to close at 864.90 dollars per ounce.