Gold inches lower amid Fed rate hike expectations

Gold prices edged lower on an uptick in the dollar on Tuesday, hovering above the two-week low hit on Friday amid signals of a hike in U.S. interest rates this month.

  FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold fell 0.1 percent, to $1,224.86 per ounce at 0029 GMT. The metal hit $1,222.51, the lowest since Feb. 15, on Friday.

* U.S. gold futures for April delivery were little changed at at $1,225 at 19:29 EST (0:29 GMT).

* The dollar index was up 0.1 percent at 101.73.

* U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said last week that the Fed was poised to lift benchmark U.S. rates provided jobs and inflation data held up, comments seen as cementing plans for an increase at the Fed's March 14-15 meeting.

* Holdings of the SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.45 percent to 836.77 tonnes on Monday.