As for other precious metals, Comex silver for September delivery rose 6.1 cents or 0.3 percent to $18.920 per ounce.
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Yellen will speak at the annual meeting of world central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, at the end of the week.
With the USA earnings season winding down, investors are also weighing up the prospect of an interest rate hike in the coming months.
“We are close to our targets”, said Federal Reserve vice-chair Stanley Fischer during a speech at the Aspen Institute on Sunday.
The market is almost evenly split on the prospect of a rate hike by the end of this year, according to the CME’s FedWatch Tool.
Even as several Federal Reserve officials have said recently that they expect to raise rates again this year, economists increasingly suspect that they will lower what they consider the long-term “normal” level of interest rates. Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.4 percent to 5,497.40 and benchmarks in Thailand, New Zealand and the Philippines also rose. Markit’s Flash U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index is also expected to be released in the morning. Eastern Time, and it is forecast to have eased to 52.8 from 52.9 in July, according to FactSet estimates.
Overnight, investors accumulated two tonnes of gold, brining total holdings to 2,115 tonnes – off the recent yearly high of 2,119 tonnes.
There were no Fed speakers scheduled to speak on Tuesday. Brent crude, used to price global oils, tumbled $.158 to $49.30 per barrel in London.
Movers and shakers: Shares of Best Buy Co. The technology index .splrct rose 0.61 percent, boosted by gains in Apple and Microsoft among others.The financial index .spsy rose 0.47 percent.The materials sector .splrcm gained 0.99 percent, mainly due to Monsanto’s 4 percent rise on a Bloomberg report that the USA seeds company’s merger talks with German suitor Bayer AG were advancing toward a deal.Shares of Best Buy jumped 16.6 percent after the electronics retailer posted a surprise rise in quarterly comparable store sales. On the Nasdaq, 1,639 issues rose and 579 fell.
Zoe’s Kitchen Inc.(ZOES) slumped 16% after the fast-casual restaurant chain late Monday cut its guidance for the fiscal year (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zoes-kitchen-shares-fall-as-guidance-is-cut-2016-08-22-184854647).
Mobileye NV (MBLY) rose 4.3% and Delphi Automotive PLC (DLPH) was flat after news the two are joining forces to develop self-driving technology (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/delphi-mobileye-team-up-to-develop-self-driving-tech-for-car-makers-2016-08-23) for auto makers.
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With the dollar under pressure, gold prices edged back above $1,340 at the USA open.
