Investing.com - Gold futures moved higher on Monday after a key Federal Reserve official suggested rate hikes in the U.S. may come later than once anticipated, which softened the dollar.
Gold and the dollar tend to trade inversely with one another.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at 1,232.10 a troy ounce, up 0.85%, up from a session low of $1,223.60 and off a high of $1,238.00.
The December contract settled down 0.29% at $1,221.70 on Friday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,217.60 a troy ounce, Friday's low, and resistance at $1,243.20, the high from Sept. 16.
The dollar has firmed and gold has softened in recent sessions on expectations for U.S. monetary policy to diverge with Europe and Asia.
While the U.S. is seen closing its monthly bond-buying programs this month and hiking interest rates in 2015, expectations that the Federal Reserve may take its time when tightening policy next year began to build on Monday in wake of dovish comments out of the U.S. central bank.
"If foreign growth is weaker than anticipated, the consequences for the U.S. economy could lead the Fed to remove accommodation more slowly than otherwise," Federal Reserve Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said in prepared remarks of a speech he delivered at the annual International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting over the weekend, which gave gold support in a quiet session.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery was up 0.46% at $17.383 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery were up 0.52% at $3.051 a pound.