CHICAGO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Tuesday as U.S. treasury yields rose sharply.

       The most active gold contract for April delivery fell 8 U.S. dollars, or 0.41 percent, to close at 1,921.5 dollars per ounce.

       Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Monday at the economic conference of the National Association for Business Economics that policy makers could deliver half percentage point rate hikes at future meetings, fueling U.S. treasury yields up.

       St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said Tuesday in a Bloomberg Television interview that the Federal Reserve needs to move aggressively on rate hikes.

       Nevertheless, heightened geopolitical tensions in the Black Sea, and the new coronavirus variant BA.2, which now accounts for half of all new cases across most of the United State, gave gold some support.

       Gold may have decent support above the 1,900-dollar level, market analysts hold. But if gold breaks the level, it could drop fast.

       Silver for May delivery fell 40.9 cents, or 1.62 percent, to close at 24.904 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery fell 19.6 dollars, or 1.88 percent, to close at 1,025.1 dollars per ounce.