Investing.com - Gold prices traded in a narrow range in Asia on Monday with investors noting domestic holiday-demand prospects in India ahead of the festival season, while widely expecting a dampener in the form of a Fed rate hike by the end of the year.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange eased 0.04% to $1,267.25 a troy ounce. Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery rose 0.26% to $17.538 a troy ounce. Copper futures for December delivery were quoted flat at $2.090 a pound.
Last week, gold prices fluctuated between small gains and losses on Friday before ending almost flat as investors compared the effect of the stronger dollar and expectations for increased demand from India on the precious metal.
The U.S. dollar index hit its highest levels since early February on Friday amid heightened expectations that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates before the end of this year.
Investors currently price a 69.5% chance of a rate hike at the Fed's December meeting, according to federal funds futures tracked on Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.
But prices continued to be underpinned by expectations of increased seasonal demand from India as the festival season, when buying gold is considered auspicious, gets underway at the end of the month.
India and China are the largest physical buyers of the precious metal.