Investing.com - Gold prices gained slightly in early Asia with Fed minutes from the September meeting on tap later in the day to set the tone.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange edged up 0.09% to $1,257.00 a troy ounce. Silver futures for December delivery on the Comex gained 0.25% to $17.553 a troy ounce, while copper futures were flat at $2.187 a pound.
Market players will be turning their attention to Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting for fresh clues on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
The timing of a Fed rate hike has been a constant source of debate in the markets in recent months.
Overnight, gold prices were marginally higher, but struggled to move away from last week's four-month lows amid indications the Federal Reserve is gearing up to hike interest rates in the coming months.
On Friday, gold prices slumped to $1,243.20, a level not seen since June 7, as a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report was not enough to derail expectations for a rate hike from the Federal Reserve before the end of the year.
Markets are currently pricing in around a 69.5% chance of a rate hike at December's meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.