Gold prices were barely changed on Monday, supported by a wilting dollar as Italian political risk receded, though the prospect of another rise in US interest rates capped gains. Spot gold was flat at $1,292.90 per ounce by 1:34 p.m. EDT (1734 GMT), while US gold futures for August delivery settled down $2, or 0.2 percent, at $1,297.30.
"The dollar is the No. 1 factor for gold," said Marisa Hernandez, senior equity analyst in global metals and mining for Neuberger Berman. "In the near-term, while we still have interest rates going up in the US and not necessarily in Europe, the gold price can be range-bound, but if the dollar starts to weaken again then that is a key tailwind for the gold price."
Finance leaders of the closest US allies vented anger over the Trump administration's metal import tariffs. Gold has struggled to capitalize on the trade stand-off, however, as attention turned to the outlook for US interest rates. Speculators raised their net long position in COMEX gold contracts to the strongest level since late April in the week to May 29, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said.
Meanwhile, silver increased 0.1 percent to $16.37 an ounce, while platinum was trading down 0.2 percent at $897.25 after earlier hitting a 10-day low of $894.55. Palladium lost 0.5 percent to $994.47 per ounce, after earlier seeing $1,010.50, a three-week high.
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