On Monday gold prices kept declining extending losses from the previous session, as market participants eyed the direction of the US dollar to estimate the appeal of the yellow metal.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery touched an intraday low of $1,187.10 a troy ounce, before trading at $1,187.50 during European morning hours, down $13.20, or 1.1%.
Gold lost $5.00, or 0.41% on Friday, to close at $1,200.70. Futures were likely to find support at $1,178.60, the low from March 23, and resistance at $1,220.40, the high from March 26.
The greenback pushed higher against the euro and the yen after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen repeated on Friday that the central bank is likely to start raising interest rates later this year. Gold usually moves inversely to the U.S. dollar, with its price becoming higher for buyers using different currencies.
Investors were closely eyeing Friday’s U.S. employment report for February, and Monday’s data on personal spending for further indications on the path of monetary policy.
A solid U.S. nonfarm payrolls report was likely to contribute to speculation over when the Federal Reserve will begin to raise interest rates, while a weak number could boost gold by undermining the argument for an early rate hike.
Gold fell to a four-month low of $1,141.60 on March 17 amid concerns that the Fed will start raising rates as early as in June, before rallying for seven consecutive sessions after the Federal Reserve projected a slower pace of rate hikes.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery lost 32.9 cents, or 1.93%, to trade at $16.74 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery tacked on 0.6 cents, or 0.22%, to trade at $2.774 a pound.
Copper remained underpinned amid speculation policymakers in China will do more to support growth following comments made by People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan over the weekend.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
