BENGALURU (Feb 20): Gold prices edged up on Tuesday despite a stronger dollar, as investors awaited the minutes of the last US Federal Reserve policy meeting for more clues on the timing of interest rate cuts.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at US$2,021.00 per ounce as of 0815 GMT. Most of the US markets were closed on Monday for the President's Day holiday.

US gold futures rose 0.3% at US$2,029.90 per ounce.

The dollar index was up 0.1%, making greenback-priced bullion less appealing to overseas buyers.

"With the US on a long weekend and a lack of market-driving news, volatility levels are lower across the board," City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson said.

"I doubt we'll glean too much from the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes since Fed members have been highly vocal on their stance, and the meeting was ahead of last week's inflation data.. that means gold might continue to be a technically-driven market over the near-term."

The minutes from the Fed's January policy meeting are due on Wednesday.

Despite "remarkable" progress on US inflation, Fed Bank of San Francisco president Mary Daly said "there is more work to do" to ensure stable prices, while another Fed official cautioned against delaying rate cuts for too long.

Hotter-than-expected US consumer prices and producer prices data last week dashed hopes around a rate cut in March.

Markets are currently pricing-in a 77% chance of a cut in June, according to the CME Fed Watch Tool. Lower interest rates decrease the opportunity cost of holding bullion.

Spot platinum was unchanged at US$898.69 per ounce, palladium was down 1.5% at US$939.89, while silver was steady at US$23.01 per ounce.