Gold prices edged up on Monday from their lowest since mid-March in choppy trade, after nearing technical support and as traders awaited signals from central banks on interest rate hikes. Bullion is highly sensitive to rising rates because they push up bond yields, increasing the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding gold. They also tend to boost the dollar, in which gold is priced.
Traders were looking ahead to Wednesday and Thursday, when US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will address Congress. "We're stalling right after the selling got a little exhausted on Friday," said Phillip Streible, senior commodities broker for RJO Futures in Chicago. "A lot of people are forward-looking, waiting for Janet Yellen's testimony later on this week."
Spot gold, which dropped 2.3 percent last week, was up 0.07 percent at $1,213.61 per ounce by 2:32 pm EDT (1832 GMT), turning up after hitting $1,204.45, the lowest since March 15. US gold futures for August delivery settled up $3.50, or 0.29 percent, at $1,213.20 per ounce. Traders expected monetary tightening from many central banks. That rationale was bolstered by better than expected US jobs data and strong German export figures.
Gold holdings at the world's largest bullion-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Trust, fell 2 percent in the week to Friday. Spot silver edged up 0.45 percent to $15.65 per ounce, after earlier falling to $15.16. Prices are near their lowest since April last year and investors' bullish stance in the week to July 3 fell to its lowest since December 2015. Platinum was down 0.47 percent at $899.25 per ounce and palladium was up 0.27 percent at $840.78 per ounce.