Investing.com - Gold futures held near the highest level since November in Europe trade on Monday, amid speculation worries over slowing growth in the U.S. will prompt the Federal Reserve to delay future interest rate hikes.
Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange tacked on $4.60, or 0.41%, to trade at $1,121.00 a troy ounce by 8:50GMT, or 3:50AM ET. Gold rallied to a three-month peak of $1,128.00 last week.
The Commerce Department said Friday that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 0.7% in the fourth quarter, missing expectations for growth of 0.8% and slowing from 2.0% in the preceding quarter.
Investors were looking ahead to the ISM report on U.S. manufacturing activity later in the day to gauge if the world's largest economy is strong enough to withstand further rate hikes this year. U.S. consumer spending data is also due Monday.
Market participants are anticipating just one more rate hike this year, most likely in July, compared with four according to Fed policymakers' guidance. A gradual path to higher rates is seen as less of a threat to gold prices than a swift series of increases.
Prices of the precious metal ended January with a gain of 5.4%, its biggest monthly rise in a year, as investors sought refuge from turmoil in global equity markets.
Gold is often seen as an alternative currency in times of global economic uncertainty and a refuge from financial risk.
Also on the Comex, copper fell to a one-week low during morning trade in London, as the release of weak Chinese manufacturing activity data underlined concerns over the health of the world’s second largest economy.
The official China manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to a three-year low of 49.4 in January from 49.7 a month earlier, falling short of expectations for 49.6. Meanwhile, the Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 48.4 last month, contracting for the 11th straight month.
The downbeat data underlined worries the world's second largest economy may still be losing momentum despite a raft of stimulus measures in recent months.
The red metal lost 3% in January as investors slashed copper holdings amid persistent worries over an economic slowdown in China. The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for nearly 45% of world consumption.