LONDON: Gold steadied below the previous day`s six-week high on Tuesday as traders awaited a confirmation hearing for US Federal Reserve chair nominee Jerome Powell, and a possible vote on US tax legislation later this week.

In prepared remarks for the hearing released by the Fed on Monday, Powell defended the central bank`s use of its crisis-fighting powers, suggesting a broad extension ofcurrent Chair Janet Yellen`s stance on monetary policy.

Spot gold stood at $1,294.73 an ounce at 1440GMT, little changed from $1,294.44 late on Monday. Earlier that day it hit a peak of $1,299.13, its highest since mid-October.

US gold futures for December delivery were down 30 cents an ounce at $1,294.10. Gold is struggling to find impetus for a break higher or lower, having stuck to its narrowest trading range of any month since late 2005 so far in November.

While Powell is expected to stay on the policy course laid out by Yellen, the upcoming US tax vote and any further tensions over North Korea might create some activity in the gold market, Saxo Bank`s head of commodity strategy Ole Hansen said. `Overall it really depends on whether these or other events manage to weaken the dollar further,` he said.

Among other precious metals, silver was flat at $17.03 an ounce, while platinum was up 0.2 per cent at $949.10 and palladium was 1pc higher at $1,016.80.-Reuters