Investing.com -- Gold future prices remained relatively stable on Monday, amid a slight rally by the euro after the currency hit record-lows last week at week’s end.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold prices for April delivery rose 1.10 or 0.10% to $1,153.50 per troy ounce. Gold prices peaked at $1,163.30, before falling to $1,149.30 in U.S. morning trading.Activity was subdued on Monday, as metal traders await the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday when the Fed could provide details on when it plans to raise interest rates. The U.S. central bank can remove a reference to remaining patient, which typically indicates that an interest rate hike could occur within the next two FOMC meetings.Gold is viewed as a safe haven for investors in periods of declining interest rates.Over the last two weeks, the U.S. dollar has skyrocketed against the euro as the start of the European Central Bank’s EUR 60 billion a month bond buying program has coincided with expectations that the Fed will raise rates. While the euro is down more than 30% against the dollar during the last 52 weeks, nearly half of the decline occurred during the previous five days of trading.On Monday, however, the euro halted its rapid decline, as it moved above 1.06 in U.S. afternoon trading. At that point, the euro gained 1.11% or 0.0114 to 1.061.The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback against six major other currencies, fell slightly 0.87 or 0.86% to 99.85. Last week, the index reached a 12-year high after cracking the historic 100 barrier.Dollar-denominated commodities such as gold become more expensive for purchasers in foreign markets as the dollar strengthens.Elsewhere, weaker than expected economic data in China softened gold’s rally. Fiscal income in China between January and February rose only 3.2%, below analysts’ expectations. Comparatively, the gain at the same point last year exceeded 8.5%.China is the second-largest purchaser of the precious metal in the world.Silver, meanwhile, increased 0.149 or 0.96% to 15.645 a troy ounce. Copper gained 0.24% or 0.006 to 2.67 a pound.Platinum futures plummeted 7.30 or 0.96% to 1,107.90, while palladium fell 6.60 or 0.84% to 782.10.