• Gold prices held steady on Monday, with investors looking ahead to a clutch of speeches from U.S. Federal Reserve officials later in the week for clues on the timing of possible interest rate hikes.
• Spot gold had inched down 0.1 percent to $1,233.61 per ounce by 0538 GMT, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.4 percent to $1,234.8.
• "We expect muted trading to start the week in Asia with a U.S. holiday today, although a break in gold of $1,231 may flush away some nervous long positions," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
• Bullion may break support at $1,233 per ounce, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
• U.S. markets are closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
• "On the fundamental side, although a stronger dollar and buoyant U.S. equities could potentially act as a drag on gold, other variables will likely prevent a more significant selloff," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
• "In the short term, bullion prices could be underpinned by political issues ... However, the end of the year story will likely be a bearish one simply because of the interest rate hikes that may be injected into the economy and also a stronger dollar," said OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan.
• In other metals, silver fell 0.2 percent to $17.96 per ounce, while platinum shed 0.4 percent to $997.24.
Thai
Eng