Investing.com - Gold prices gained in Asia on Monday with the stage set this week for the latest Federal Reserve review on rates and on the same day the Bank of Japan expected to detail results of a review on its easing policies.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.28% to $1,313.85 a troy ounce. Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery inched up 0.08% to $18.877 a troy ounce.
Copper futures for December delivery fell 0.14% to $2.155 a pound following gains last week on Chinese economic data that suggested stronger growth in the next few months from the world's top importer.
Financial markets in Tokyo are shut Monday for a holiday.
Last week, gold prices slumped to a more than two-week low on Friday, as a broadly stronger U.S. dollar and jitters ahead of next week's highly anticipated Federal Reserve policy meeting weighed.
The greenback jumped on Friday after data showing faster-than-expected growth in U.S. consumer prices helped support the case for a Fed rate hike later this year. The Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 0.2% in August, compared to expectations for a 0.1% gain. Year-over-year, consumer prices increased 1.1%. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, so-called core consumer prices climbed 0.3%. The core CPI increased 2.3% in the 12 months through August.
A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Market participants were now eyeing the Fed’s policy meeting on September 20-21 amid ongoing uncertainty over a potential rate hike. Investors are currently pricing in just a 12% chance of a rate hike next week, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.