Gold prices inched lower on Monday, weighed down by a firmer dollar, but violent unrest in the Middle East as well as an unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan lent support. The dollar index firmed slightly, aided by hawkish comments from some US Federal Reserve officials, while the euro continued its decline on news that German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives had lost a key state election.
Several Fed officials said on Friday that the central bank was unlikely to extend its bond purchase program with the US economy now on a firmer footing, while others called to trim the program or raise interest rates soon, increasing the greenback's appeal and weighing on gold. "The bar for future quantitative easing seems to have been raised, and this is weighing on the sentiment of the gold market," said Ong Yi Ling, an analyst at Phillip Futures.
Spot gold edged down 0.2 percent to $1,424.55 an ounce by 0618 GMT, off the record high of $1,447.40 hit on March 24. US gold futures were little changed at $1,424.90. Spot silver lost 0.7 percent to $37.02 an ounce, off its 31-year high at $38.13 reached on last Thursday. Net long positions by speculators in gold and silver rose last week as prices rose, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said. Platinum group metals tracked the decline in industrial metals as well as equities. Spot palladium fell as much as 1.7 percent to $735.13 before trimming some losses to trade at $738.97.