Investing.com - Gold futures posted modest gains on Monday after disappointing U.S. housing data prompted investors to lock in gains from the dollar's recent rally and sell the greenback for profits.
Gold and the greenback tend to trade inversely with one another.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at 1,217.70 a troy ounce during U.S. trading, up 0.09%, up from a session low of $1,208.90 and off a high of $1,221.00.
The December contract settled down 0.84% at $1,216.60 on Friday.
Futures were likely to find support at $1,182.00 a troy ounce, the low from Dec. 31, 2013, and resistance at $1,229.20, Friday's high.
In the U.S. earlier, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales unexpectedly fell 1.8% to an annual unit rate of 5.05 million in August.
Analysts had expected existing home sales to rise 1% to 5.20 million units, and the numbers weakened the greenback slightly and gave gold room to rise.
The dollar has advanced in recent weeks as markets prepare for U.S. monetary policy to grow less accommodative going forward, while Europe and Japan are seen taking steps to loosen policy to stimulate their economies.
Earlier Monday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi economic activity in the euro area has slowed and added he saw a risk of a further downturn, though the dollar still remained soft on sentiments the U.S. currency was due for a breather.
Meanwhile, silver for December delivery was down 0.45% at $17.763 a troy ounce, while copper futures for December delivery were down 1.68% at $3.040 a pound.