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Gold eased on Tuesday after having touched a resistance at the $2,000 per-ounce level in the previous session, as the dollar rose to a two-year high and dented bullion's appeal.

Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,976.46 per ounce, as of 0229 GMT. U.S. gold futures slipped 0.3% to $1,981.00.

Gold climbed to $1,998.10 on Monday, buoyed by safe-haven demand, as the Ukraine crisis dragged on and inflation concerns mounted. However, the metal later gave up most gains as the dollar and U.S. 10-year Treasury yields firmed.

"That ($2,000 per ounce) is quite a critical level, and the fact that gold effectively closed flat on the day means there appears to be a slight hesitancy to push immediately higher," said City Index's senior market analyst Matt Simpson.

"Gold has the ability to overcome the U.S. dollar strength and break above $2,000 possibly over the next week or so."

The dollar firmed to its highest since April 2020 as investors braced for multiple half a percentage-point rate hikes from the Federal Reserve as it seeks to rein in soaring inflation. [USD/]

While bullion is considered a safe store of value during times of political and economic crises, as well as a hedge against inflation, a firmer dollar makes greenback-priced gold more expensive for other currency holders.

Meanwhile, yields on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note eased off recent highs, providing some support to zero-yield gold. [US/]

"Now that we've tested near $2,000, this will be a bit of an eye opener towards more traditional gold buyers and more momentum type players, with worries over recession in the U.S. also placing gold to go higher in the medium term," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

Spot silver dipped 0.1% to $25.81 per ounce, platinum gained 1% to $1,020.00, and palladium dropped 0.1% to $2,435.19.

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Uttaresh.V)