Investing.com - Gold prices edged lower during European morning hours on Monday, as market players awaited further hints on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
Gold for April delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange shed $3.35, or about 0.3%, to $1,235.75 a troy ounce by 3:15AM ET (08:15GMT).
Trading activity was likely to stay light as markets in the U.S. remain closed for President’s Day on Monday.
Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester said in a speech in Singapore on Monday she would be "comfortable" raising interest rates at this point if the economy maintained its current pace of performance.
Fed Chair Janet Yellen said last week that the U.S. central bank will likely need to raise interest rates at an upcoming meeting, although she flagged considerable uncertainty over economic policy under the Donald Trump administration.
Global financial markets will focus on Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting in the week ahead for more clues on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.
Market players will also keep an eye out on U.S. housing data to gauge if a recent increase in consumer spending and inflation is translating into higher home prices and a pick-up in home sales.
There are also a handful of Fed speakers this week, with Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker due to speak Tuesday, while Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart is scheduled for Thursday.
Fed fund futures priced in a less than 20% chance of a rate hike in March, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool. Odds of a June increase was seen at around 70%.
Headlines from Washington will most likely remain in focus in the week ahead, as traders await further details on President Donald Trump's promises of tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure spending.
The dollar index was little changed at 100.86 in early London morning trade. Upbeat U.S. inflation and retail sales data last week sent this index to 101.75, its strongest level since January 12.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery dipped 5.7 cents, or 0.3%, to $17.97 a troy ounce.
Meanwhile, platinum was flat at $1,005.80, while palladium slumped 0.6%, to $774.83 an ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures rose 1.7 cents, or about 0.7%, to $2.724 a pound, as concerns over supply disruptions in Chile and Indonesia supported prices.
Prices of the red metal rallied to a 20-month peak of $2.822 last week after strikes at BHP Billiton (LON:BLT)'s Chilean Escondida and Freeport-McMoran (NYSE:FCX)'s Indonesian Grasberg mine.
Combined, the mines produce roughly 10% of the world's total copper supply.