Investing.com - Gold prices gained in early Asia on Monday as investors focused on the recent declines as an opportunity to buy.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.73% to $1,187.00 a troy ounce. Silver futures on the Comex were flat at $16.554 a troy ounce, while copper futures dipped 0.24% to $2.657 a pound.
This week brings U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for November on friday as well as data on U.S. economic growth and manufacturing for fresh indications on the likelihood of a December rate hike. Investors will also be watching euro zone inflation data and manufacturing reports out of the U.K. and China.
On Monday, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is due to testify about the ECB’s outlook on economic and monetary developments and the consequences of Brexit to the Economic Committee in the European Parliament.
Last week, gold prices closed at the lowest level in nine months on Friday as expectations for higher U.S. interest rates continued to cloud the demand outlook for the precious metal.
Safe haven demand for gold has been hit since the U.S. presidential election amid expectations that increased fiscal spending and tax cuts under the Trump administration will spur economic growth and inflation.
Faster growth would spark inflation, which in turn would prompt the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy a faster rate than had previously been expected.
The precious metal has also been weighed down by bets that a rate hike by the Fed in December is a near certainty. According to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool, 95.4%