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By Bloomberg

Gold advanced for a second day as investors weighed bets on when the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before officials meet next week.

Bullion for immediate delivery added 0.2 percent to $1,176.73 an ounce at 12:28 p.m. in Singapore, extending Monday’s 0.2 percent gain, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal has rebounded from $1,162.88 on Friday, the lowest level since March 19. Gold in Shanghai gained for the first time in four days.

Gold has dropped 0.7 percent this year while the dollar climbed 4.3 percent as investors seek to gauge when the Federal Reserve will raise borrowing costs for the first time since 2006. Higher rates drive investors to favor assets that pay interest, curbing the allure of the metal. The Federal Open Market Committee meets on June 16-17.

“Gold has been stagnant and moving sideways for some time now,” Howie Lee, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures Pte. in Singapore, wrote in a note. “The FOMC meeting next week could prove to be a perfect battleground for gold bulls and bears to settle their differences once and for all in deciding the next big direction of gold prices.”

The euro rose 0.3 percent on Tuesday, extending Monday’s 1.6 percent surge. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index lost 0.1 percent after tumbling 1 percent on Monday.

Gold for August delivery was at $1,175.70 an ounce on the Comex from $1,173.60 on Monday, when prices climbed 0.5 percent. Bullion of 99.99 percent purity rose 0.1 percent to 235 yuan a gram ($1,178.07 an ounce) on the Shanghai Gold Exchange.

Silver for immediate delivery climbed 0.5 percent to $16.0735 an ounce. Platinum increased 0.5 percent to $1,108.36 an ounce, while palladium was little changed at $745.72 an ounce.