Gold prices traded in a narrow range on Monday following a recent inflation-driven rally, with a weaker dollar and a pullback in US bond yields limiting losses in bullion.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,864.85 per ounce by 1308 GMT, while US gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,866.20.
Bullion, traditionally seen as an inflation hedge, rose to a near five-month high last week as US consumer prices posted their sharpest annual jump in 31 years.
"Gold has plenty of support, and is only seeing a bit of profit taking," after a seven-day winning streak which is not common for the metal, said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.
"While a stronger US dollar hasn't been a major headwind for gold recently, "the fact that (dollar) is off today could be a little bit supportive for prices," Erlam added.
Gold nears 5-month peak as inflation worries boost appeal
Limiting losses in gold, the dollar eased on Monday from an almost 16-month high as traders awaited fresh clues on Federal Reserve's interest rate hike plans on the back of red-hot inflation.
US benchmark 10-year Treasury yields also pulled back, reducing non-yielding bullion's opportunity cost.
Meanwhile, Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said, "if gold fails to break above $1,870 today, then there is a risk that could push it back down to $1,830-$1,835 area, as that could disappoint some investors."
Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari said on Sunday he expected higher inflation in the next few months but said the US central bank should not over react to elevated inflation as it was likely to be temporary.
Interest rate hikes tend to reduce non-interest bearing gold's appeal as it raises the metal's opportunity cost.
Elsewhere, silver fell 0.4% to $25.18 per ounce.
UBS analysts see a weaker silver price with the Fed's policy normalisation, along with higher interest rates, and inflation pressure likely fading in 2022.
Platinum fell 0.4% to $1,078.12, while palladium rose 0.1% to $2,110.19.
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