• Gold rose on Monday on geopolitical worries, but was trading in a tight range in the absence of any fresh clues on U.S. monetary policy and as the market looked to economic data later in the week for more direction.
• Supporting gold was geopolitical tension sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump who on Sunday held out the possibility of using trade as a lever to secure Chinese cooperation against North Korea.
• Global equity markets eased on Monday as investors assessed how Trump's protectionist stance on trade will play out during meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping slated for Thursday and Friday.
• Spot gold XAU= was 0.3 percent higher at $1,252.66 per ounce by 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), trading in a range between $1,244.05 and $1,253.52.
• "While the European elections, Brexit negotiations and Trump's foreign policies could reignite safe-haven interest, gold is not without hurdles," Standard Chartered said in a note.
"We believe the fragile physical market and Fed rate hikes will create a softer footing for gold prices. We maintain our view that Q2 and Q3-2017 are likely to mark the strongest quarters for gold prices this year."
• Ole Hansen, the head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank said the focus has now turned to U.S. payrolls data on Friday which could provide more clues on the direction of interest rates.
• Hedge funds and money managers raised their net long position in COMEX gold for the second straight week in the week to March 28, and boosted it slightly in silver, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
• In other precious metals, spot silver XAG= edged down 0.3 percent to $18.17 per ounce but held near one-month highs.
• "We think that both the gold and silver complexes will make fresh highs this month ahead of the French elections, but likely fade in their immediate aftermath," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir.
Reference: Reuters
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