· Spot gold was up 0.3 percent at $1,275.76 an ounce by 2:52 p.m. EDT (1852 GMT), little changed from its late Friday level but well off that session's three-week low of $1,263.35.
U.S. gold futures for December delivery settled up $5.90, or 0.5 percent, at 1,277.70 per ounce.
· Gold rose on Monday ahead of a series of central bank meetings and U.S. President Donald Trump's expected announcement of the next Federal Reserve chair, and amid a slightly weaker U.S. dollar.
The metal is facing a slew of potential risks this week, including a two-day U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting, U.S. payrolls data on Friday and ongoing unrest in Spain's Catalonia region.
· The Bank of Japan and Bank of England also meet this week to consider interest rate policies.
· While the dollar index has taken a step lower on Monday, it remains close to its highest since mid July.
U.S. politics, including the indictment of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, pressured the dollar.
· “Gold has been more of a safe-haven investment, because of risks involved in diversifying European assets," said John Lawrence, senior metals trader for Heraeus Precious Metals in New York.
· Fed governor Jerome Powell, considered a moderate, is widely tipped to take over from Janet Yellen when she steps down as Fed chair in February.
· Trump has said he has been considering Powell and Stanford University economist John Taylor for the post and has also not ruled out re-nominating Yellen.
· "The front end of the U.S. rates curve doesn't seem to have priced in a Taylor Rule Fed ... which means that a surprise would send yields and the dollar higher, and risk assets down," SG Forex said in a note on Monday.
"The market thinks Jerome Powell, more neutral in the market's mind, is more likely."
· Speculators cut their bullish COMEX gold bets by 1,968 contracts to 173,043 contracts, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday, the fewest since early August.
· Among other precious metals, silver up 0.04 percent at $16.817 an ounce. Platinum was down 0.16 percent at $913 an ounce, while palladium was down 0.1 percent at $964.50 an ounce.
Reference: Reuters
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