Gold holds steady with dollar up

Gold bars

Gold prices were steady at Monday’s close as the dollar strengthened, with investors assessing the outlook for US monetary policy and awaiting this week’s reading of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge.

December gold futures settled at $3,417.5 an ounce, unchanged after posting a 1% gain last week.

The metal came under pressure from a stronger US currency, as the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, rose 0.68% to 98 points at 9:38 p.m. Mecca time.

Losses in gold were limited by growing expectations that the Fed may resume monetary easing at its meeting next month, after Chair Jerome Powell signaled at the Jackson Hole symposium last week that conditions could warrant such a move in the future.

Investors are awaiting Friday’s release of the core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, which is expected to have risen 0.3% month-on-month in July, matching June’s pace.