Firm dollar, equities put gold under pressure

Gold prices fell on Monday as the US dollar firmed against a basket of rival currencies, with rising appetite for riskier assets on the back of economic recovery and higher vaccination rates denting the metal's safe-haven status.

FUNDAMENTALS

Spot gold fell 0.2% to $1,727.91 per ounce by 0129 GMT. US gold futures declined 0.4% to $1,726.00 per ounce.

The dollar began the week firmly as US economic strength and a vaccine rollout proceeding much more quickly than in Europe, drew investors into the greenback.

A stronger dollar makes greenback-denominated gold expensive for holders of other currencies.

Asian shares inched higher as the chance of yet more trillions in US fiscal spending underpinned the global growth outlook.

Annual profits at China's industrial firms surged in the first two months of 2021, highlighting a rebound in the country's manufacturing sector and a broad revival in economic activity.

US consumer spending fell by the most in 10 months in February as a cold snap gripped many parts of the country and the boost from a second round of stimulus checks to middle- and lower-income households faded.

Bank of England rate-setters Michael Saunders and Silvana Tenreyro on Friday played down risks of a sustained surge in inflation when Britain's economy recovers from its pandemic crash, and Tenreyro said more stimulus might yet be needed.

Hedge funds and money managers raised their bullish positions in COMEX gold and cut them in silver contracts in the week to March 23, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.6% to 1,036.62 tonnes on Friday from 1,043.03 tonnes on Thursday.

Silver fell 0.8% to $24.84, palladium rose0.1% to $2,677.10 and platinum fell 0.6% to $1,177.9.