Gold was little changed on Tuesday as traders in Asia mostly kept to the sidelines, awaiting fresh clues to set the market's direction, such as significant stock market moves and data to gauge the global economic outlook.
Trade was slow as Japanese institutional investors curbed activity before the fiscal year-end on March 31 and because the physical business in mainland China is quiet, traders said.
"Gold's current level is in the middle of a range (this year) of between $US800 and $US1000,'' said a precious metals trader in Hong Kong.
"In the last couple of days the market has been pretty quiet in Asia ... The trading range is just stuck between $US910 and $US940.''
Spot gold was trading at $US921.70 per ounce, little changed from New York's notional close of $US922.55 on Monday.
It earlier fell as low as $US916, off a Monday low of $US914.70 and 14% above a January trough of $US801.65.
It cleared the psychological barrier of $US1000 last month, albeit briefly, as worries about the health of the financial sector and long-term inflation prospects increased the yellow metal's allure.
On Tuesday, Asian stock markets edged higher, after a minor drop on Wall Street snapped a four-day rising streak amid hopes the US recession may be bottoming out.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said on Sunday the United States should start recovering from recession next year.
His comments boosted risk appetite, with stocks rising and gold and the US dollar dipping.
But gold's underlying sentiment was firm as holdings at the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded hit a fresh record.
The world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, the SPDR Gold Trust, said holdings hit a record 1069.05 tonnes as of March 16, up 12.23 tonnes or 1.2% from the previous day.
