LONDON: Gold slid below $1,200 an ounce on Tuesday as news that the Eurogroup had approved Greece's reform plan boosted appetite for assets viewed as higher-risk, such as equities.

Dollar strength ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's Senate testimony added pressure to gold. Investors are awaiting her comments for clues on the timing of the first US interest rate hike in nearly a decade, slated for this year.

Spot gold was down 0.4 percent at $1,196.45 an ounce by 1449 GMT, while US gold futures for April delivery were down $4.20 an ounce at $1,196.60.

European shares rose early on Tuesday and Greek shares outperformed after a list of proposed reforms submitted by Greece was received favourably by the European Commission. The Eurogroup later confirmed that it had agreed to submit Greece's proposals for approval by member states.

"There can be little doubt that the immediate risk over this issue has diminished and we could see some short-term weakness in gold as a result," Mitsui Precious Metals analyst David Jollie said.

The dollar rose on expectations that Yellen would keep nudging the Fed towards US rate increases. Speculation that the Fed is poised to increase rates, lifting the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while boosting the dollar, has weighed on gold over the past year.

Expectations for a rate rise have led to months of dollar strength, lifting it to an 11-year high against a basket of currencies in January.

Gold rose in spite of this as concerns over the euro zone economy grew after the anti-bailout Syriza party won a snap election in Greece. The metal is now losing ground as markets digest the prospect of Greece gaining a financial rescue deal, which could soften demand gold as a haven from risk.

"At least in the near-term, an agreement would be negative for gold," HSBC said in a note.

A number of major Asian gold markets, most notably China, remained closed for the Lunar New Year break, removing key support for gold, dealers said.

Data from the International Monetary Fund showed on Tuesday that the euro zone raised its gold holdings by 7.437 tons in January, which traders attributed to Lithuania joining the currency bloc, while Turkish holdings declined by 14.227 tons.

Turkey counts gold held on deposit with it by commercial banks as part of its bullion holdings, meaning outflows from those holdings do not necessarily reflect central bank selling.

Among other precious metals, silver XAG= was down 0.5 percent at $16.21 an ounce, while platinum fell 0.3 percent to $1,157.49 and palladium was flat at $784.50.