Gold rises in choppy trading as shares climb, oil dips

Gold edged up on Tuesday in choppy trading amid strength in Asian equities and a drop in oil prices, although uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy kept investors cautious. Asian share markets rose to five-month highs on Tuesday, taking their cue from gains on Wall Street after the strike in Kuwait helped pull crude oil prices above their prior-session lows. Spot gold was up nearly $1 at $1,232 an ounce by 0431 GMT, after earlier dropping as much as 0.3 percent.