Gold prices came off their lows on Monday after unexpectedly weaker US economic data spurred some safe-haven buying. Gold fell more than 1 percent earlier as buyers cashed in gains after the metal posted its biggest monthly rise in three years in January.
Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,279.51 an ounce at 2:45 pm EST (1945 GMT), while US gold futures for April delivery settled down 0.2 percent at $1,276.90 per ounce. "The release of lower-than-expected US economic data, helped gold cut early losses," said Howard Wen, precious metals analyst for HSBC Securities in New York, noting earlier losses were due to profit-taking. Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.1 percent at $17.23 an ounce. Platinum was down 0.6 percent at $1,228.35 an ounce, while palladium was up 1.9 percent at $783.50 an ounce.