CHICAGO, Sept. 20 -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar strengthened.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 7.1 U.S. dollars, or 0.42 percent, to close at 1,671.1 dollars per ounce.

The Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting starts Tuesday. Investors are waiting for Federal Reserve raising interest rates and updating on economic projections Wednesday when the meeting concludes. The market widely expects the U.S. central bank to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage points in an effort to fight inflation.

U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday that U.S. housing starts rebounded 12.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.575 million units in August.

Silver for December delivery fell 17.5 cents, or 0.9 percent, to close at 19.183 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery rose 4.3 dollars, or 0.47 percent, to close at 922.8 dollars per ounce.

  - Xinhua