NEW YORK: Gold prices fell on Monday as optimism over a US health regulator's authorization of a Covid-19 treatment lifted Wall Street stocks to record highs. Spot gold fell 0.5% to $1,929.12 an ounce by 2:35 p.m. EDT (1835 GMT), having jumped 1% to $1,961.40. US gold futures settled down 0.4% at $1,939.20.

"Gold is just consolidating right now with stock indexes at record highs. It really needs a bigger catalyst, it needs additional fiscal stimulus, it needs inflation to pick up, in order to get really going," said Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures in Chicago.

Meanwhile, talks between top Democrats and Republicans on coronavirus aid legislation remained stalled. "While Covid-19 vaccine developments and improving economic data present near-term headwinds to gold, low and negative interest rates, a weaker US dollar, and expectations for further stimulus keep the balance of risks to the upside," said Standard Chartered analyst Suki Cooper in a note.

Central banks worldwide have rolled out massive stimulus measures to alleviate the economic damage caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, but that has also increased the probability of rising inflation. Among other metals, silver fell 0.9% to $26.43 an ounce, platinum was down 0.5% at $914.22 and palladium eased 1.2% to $2,155.90.