Investing.com - Gold futures pushed higher on Monday, as markets eyed the Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week, amid growing uncertainty over the future of the central bank's monetary stimulus program.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,334.45 a troy ounce during European morning hours, jumping 0.95%.
The August contract settled down 0.57%, at USD1,321.9 a troy ounce on Friday.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,295.45 a troy ounce, the low from July 21 and resistance at USD1,347.85, the high from July 23.
Gold prices gained ground as a string of U.S. economic reports last week failed to convince market participants that the Fed will soon begin to taper its stimulus program.
On Friday, the University of Michigan said its index of consumer sentiment ticked up to 85.1 in July from a reading of 83.9 the previous month, beating expectations for a rise to 84.0.
The data came a day after the Labor Department said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits the previous week increased by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 6,000 to 340,000.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its quantitative easing program sooner-than-expected.
An exit from the stimulus would deal a heavy blow to gold, which has thrived on demand from investors who buy gold to hedge against the inflationary risks of loose monetary policies.
Trade looked likely to remain subdued ahead of data on U.S. pending home sales later in the trading day.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery advanced 1.80% to trade at USD20.127 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery added 0.12% to trade at USD3.108 a pound.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,334.45 a troy ounce during European morning hours, jumping 0.95%.
The August contract settled down 0.57%, at USD1,321.9 a troy ounce on Friday.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,295.45 a troy ounce, the low from July 21 and resistance at USD1,347.85, the high from July 23.
Gold prices gained ground as a string of U.S. economic reports last week failed to convince market participants that the Fed will soon begin to taper its stimulus program.
On Friday, the University of Michigan said its index of consumer sentiment ticked up to 85.1 in July from a reading of 83.9 the previous month, beating expectations for a rise to 84.0.
The data came a day after the Labor Department said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits the previous week increased by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 343,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 6,000 to 340,000.
Moves in the gold price this year have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would end its quantitative easing program sooner-than-expected.
An exit from the stimulus would deal a heavy blow to gold, which has thrived on demand from investors who buy gold to hedge against the inflationary risks of loose monetary policies.
Trade looked likely to remain subdued ahead of data on U.S. pending home sales later in the trading day.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for September delivery advanced 1.80% to trade at USD20.127 a troy ounce, while copper for September delivery added 0.12% to trade at USD3.108 a pound.