• Gold prices held steady on Monday amid a softer dollar as the U.S. government shutdown due to a funding impasse unnerved investors.
• Spot gold was mostly unchanged at $1,331.57 an ounce by 0310 GMT.
• U.S. gold futures were up down 0.1 percent at $1,331.30.
• The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies fell as much as 0.5 percent to 90.155.
• Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate held talks on Sunday seeking to break an impasse that has kept the U.S. government shut down for two days, but it was unclear if a deal could be struck to reopen federal agencies by the start of the work week.
• "While the shutdown of government services in the U.S. is not expected to last too long, traders are getting increasingly nervous about its impact on the economy," ANZ analysts said in a note.
• Spot gold may revisit its Jan. 18 low of $1,323.70 per ounce, as suggested by its wave pattern and a Fibonacci retracement analysis, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
• Among other precious metals, spot silver was up 0.1 percent to $17.01.
• Platinum fell 0.1 percent to $1,011.65, after touching its highest since Sept. 8 at $1,015.20 on Friday.
• Palladium rose 0.1 percent to $1,105.97 an ounce. It touched record highs last week at $1,138.
• Gold edged up in its initial reaction to the U.S. government shutdown as Asian markets opened on Monday.
Spot gold on Kitco.com was last at $1,334.10, up 0.26% on the day.
Markets were digesting the latest headlines as U.S. Republican and Democratic Senators were holding talks on Sunday to break the political stalemate.
The Senate is scheduled to vote on the proposed bill to extend government funding through February 8 at 1 a.m. EST on Monday, said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
The U.S. federal government was forced into shutdown at midnight on Friday after federal funding was not extended due to differences on immigration issues between Republicans and Democrats.
“I wouldn’t rule out anything now, positive or negative. But I think it’s going to be positive,” Senator Johnny Isakson said.
The new deal on the table reportedly includes a promise by the Republican Party to look at Democrats’ immigration concerns in the next few weeks, Reuters reported.
If the government shutdown continues, American citizens can expect the closure of all “nonessential services.” Services like economic data releases, museums, federal parks and monuments will be closed and employees will be put on temporary unpaid leave.
Reference: Reuters,Kitco
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