Gold pulled back from a two-week high on Monday, as the dollar edged up from recent lows, though easing bets on U.S. interest rate hikes limited bullion's losses. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $4,165.21 per ounce, as of 0750 GMT, after hitting its highest since June 22 earlier in the day. U.S. gold futures for August delivery climbed 1.3% to $4,177.20 per ounce. Get the latest news from India and how it matters to the world with the Reuters India File newsletter. Sign up here. "Gold continues to face headwinds from a resilient U.S. dollar," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
"This week's FOMC meeting minutes will be closely watched for clearer signals on the Fed's monetary policy leanings. Investors will be looking for evidence of whether other committee members share (Fed Chairman) Kevin Warsh's hawkish outlook or if there is more dovish sentiment within the group." The dollar gained 0.2%, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies. Bullion gained more than 2% last week, snapping a four-week losing streak, after softer-than-expected U.S. payrolls data eased worries about persistent inflation and higher interest rates. Data on Thursday showed U.S. job growth slowed sharply in June and payroll gains for the prior two months were revised lower, pointing to a cooling labour market and prompting markets to dial back bets for a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike.
Lower interest rates tend to be favourable to gold, as it is a non-yielding asset. J.P. Morgan said demand for gold from key sectors would not be as strong as it had expected, capping bullion prices this year at $4,300 in the third quarter and $4,500 in the fourth quarter. Among other metals, spot silver fell 0.2% to $62.28 per ounce after hitting its highest since June 23 earlier. Platinum gained 0.7% to $1,649.61 per ounce and palladium was up 1.1% at $1,288.14 per ounce.
