By Brijesh Patel
(Reuters) -Gold prices slipped on Monday as the dollar held firm, with investors looking forward to several major central bank meetings and U.S. inflation data release this week for more clarity on the interest rate trajectory.
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,997.16 per ounce, as of 0514 GMT. U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% at $2,013.20.
“Stronger jobs number on Friday caused a little bit of a reshaping of expectations for the Fed next year, providing a reprieve to the dollar and bond yields and that puts some downward pressure on gold,” KCM Trade chief market analyst Tim Waterer said. [USD/] [US/]
The dollar rose 0.1% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for other currency holders.
Data showed U.S. non-farm payrolls increased by 199,000 last month, above economists’ expectations of 180,000. The report prompted traders to pare back expectations that the Federal Reserve could cut interest rates as soon as March.
The November U.S. consumer price report on Tuesday will be closely watched for more rate clues ahead of the Fed statement and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to leave rates unchanged at 5.25%-5.50% this week. The European Central Bank, Bank of England, Norges Bank and the Swiss National Bank will also conduct their policy meetings on Thursday.
Goldman Sachs forecasts the Fed delivering the first rate cut in the third quarter of next year, earlier than its previous forecast of the fourth quarter, citing better inflation news.
Lower interest rates tend to support non-interest-bearing bullion.
Meanwhile, COMEX gold speculators lowered their net long position by 11,895 contracts to 132,515 in the week ended Dec. 5. [CFTC/]
Spot gold may test support of $1,992 per ounce, a break below could open the way towards the $1,962-$1,977 range, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. [TECH/C]
Spot silver fell 0.1% to $22.94 per ounce, while platinum was steady at $914.27 and palladium fell 0.9% to $938.68 per ounce.
(Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
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