A buoyant dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for buyers using other currencies. Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,340.84 an ounce by 1455 GMT.
US gold futures shed 1 percent to $1,343 an ounce. Spot gold is expected to fall to the next support level at $1,326, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Gold may get a boost later on Tuesday, however, when the US government launches a series of auctions for $258 billion worth of debt this week. "We have a barrage of US debt being auctioned off and if there is less than the required appetite for that mountain of debt, that could weaken the dollar and support gold," said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen.
Geopolitical uncertainty ranging from disunity at the recent Munich security conference to threatened US trade sanctions may increase safe-haven demand for gold, he added. "That leads me to believe that any correction in gold will continue to be a buying opportunity at this stage, with $1,322 as my target for those who are thinking of getting back into the market."
Gold investors will also be eyeing the release on Wednesday of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's Jan. 30 to 31 policy meeting. Among other precious metals, silver slipped 0.2 percent to $16.63 an ounce, while the gold/silver ratio held above 80 after touching the highest since April 2016 on Friday.
"Silver is on the defensive. The (gold/silver) ratio has stayed above 80 for relatively short periods, so from a historical perspective, silver looks cheap at this point," Hansen said. Palladium added 0.4 percent to $1,037 an ounce, after rising to the highest since Feb. 2 at $1,050 in the previous session.
A major low was achieved earlier this month when palladium hit $957.75, S. Aymes, head of technical analysis at Societe Generale, said in a note. "A break past $1,055 will prompt accrued positive signals towards $1,071/78...and more importantly towards the channel upper band at $1,145/55." Platinum rose 0.6 percent to $1,008.40 an ounce after rising to a three-week high of $1,013.60 on Monday.