Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange declined on Tuesday as U.S. dollar continued its upturn.

The most active gold contract for August delivery fell 3.2 U.S. dollars, or 0.26 percent, to settle at 1,243.50 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. Dollar Index climbed 0.31 percent to 97.81 as of 1744 GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of other major currencies. When the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall.

Gold kept its downturn on Tuesday in response to recent comments from Federal Reserve officials, which raised expectations for further interest rate hike later this year.

New York Fed President William Dudley said on Monday that inflation might pick up as wages rise along with continuing improvement in the labor market.

He was joined by Boston Fed chief Eric Rosengren, who expressed the idea that low interest rates pose financial stability risks and central bankers must take this into consideration.

Their words came in less than a week after the Fed raised its interest rates for the fourth time since December 2015. The rate hike has led to losses of gold futures due to sell-off.

However, the fall of gold futures were limited by the retreat of stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down 19.94 points, or 0.09 percent, to 21,509.50 as of 1753 GMT. When equities post losses, the gold futures usually goes up.

As for other precious metals, silver for July delivery dropped 8.5 cents, or 0.52 percent, to close at 16.417 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery went up 5.4 dollars, or 0.58 percent, to close at 921.50 dollars per ounce.