Investing.com – Gold prices were largely unchanged on Monday, rising from session lows as the dollar retreated after hitting a new high for the year.
Gold futures for June delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell by $0.60 or 0.05%, to $1,314.10 a troy ounce.
Gold prices started the week on the back foot as the dollar remained in demand after a mixed labor market report on Friday did little to dampen investor expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes.
The U.S. economy created 164,000 in April, missing economists’ forecast for 189,000 new jobs. The jobless rate fell to 3.9%, while average hourly earnings grew 0.1%.
Investing.com’s fed rate monitor tool showed 100% of traders expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rate at its next meeting in June.
Gold is sensitive to moves higher in both bond yields and the U.S. dollar – A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of foreign currency while a rise in U.S. rates, lift the opportunity cost of holding gold as it pays no interest.
The threat of an uptick in geopolitical uncertainty amid growing expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal garnered limited demand for safe-haven gold.
Gold prices fell for the third-straight week on Friday, as traders slashed their bullish bets on precious metal for the second week in a row.
CFTC COT data showed money managers reduced their net long positions in gold futures to 106,800 lots from 136,600 lots for the week ended May 2.
In other precious metal trade, silver futures fell 0.12% to $16.50 a troy ounce, while platinum futures gained 0.33% to $913.30 an ounce.
Copper fell 0.21% to $3.08.