Gold closes at one-month low

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday closed at the lowest level since Oct. 11 as U.S. Federal Reserve officials suggested the central bank may scale back its bond purchase as early as December.

The most active gold contract for December delivery dropped 9.9 dollars, or 0.77 percent, to settle at 1,271.2 dollars per ounce.

Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher urged the market to prepare for the withdrawal of the quantitative-easing stimulus in an interview with CNBC; Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio that Fed's scale-down in bond purchase "could very well take place" in December; and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota also pointed out in a speech that the central bankers are looking at more than the outlook in considering a scale-down in bond purchase.

While Fed officials acknowledged the possibility of an early scale-down in bond purchase, they also said that lower interest rates in the U.S. will continue in the next year, which will be a long-term boost to gold, market analysts hold.

Congressional testimony for Janet Yellen to head the Fed scheduled for Thursday may be the next indicator for gold. Market analysts expect gold to remain under pressure before Yellen's testimony.

Silver for December delivery lost 50.4 cents, or 2.37 percent, to close at 20.778 dollars per ounce. Platinum for January delivery rose 7.2 dollars, or 0.5 percent, to close at 1,439.6 dollars per ounce.