Gold was little changed on Monday, giving up gains as the dollar rallied after the precious metal was initially buoyed by an unexpected stall in US consumer spending and comments on interest rates from a Federal Reserve's official. Spot gold rose to a session high of $1,204.31 an ounce and was down 0.04 percent at $1,189.30 an ounce by 3:00 pm EDT (1900 GMT). It posted a second consecutive weekly fall last week, hitting a three-week low of $1,180.50 on Thursday.
US gold futures for August delivery settled down $1.10 at $1,188.70 an ounce. The US dollar advanced against major currencies after stronger-than-expected data on US manufacturing activity and construction spending, while mounting worries of a Greek default contributed to the euro's weakness. "The buying just dried up above $1,200 and the dollar made a comeback and we're right back down to where we were," said James Steel, chief metals analyst for HSBC Securities in New York.
Gold prices were lifted earlier by heavy short covering in response to earlier data and comments by Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, Steel said. Without a deal, Greece risks default or bankruptcy in weeks, a possibility that has supported gold prices to an extent. "Greece and global equity markets remain the perennial wild cards," INTL FCStone said in a note. Silver fell 0.1 percent to $16.68 an ounce. Platinum fell 0.3 percent to $1,104.28 ounce, while palladium was down 0.2 percent at $772.78 an ounce.
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