Gold prices climbed on Monday buoyed by a weaker dollar as US bond yields dipped, while investors were cautious ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's first congressional testimony. Powell will testify on the central bank's semi-annual report on monetary policy and the economy on Tuesday, before the US House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee.
Spot gold was up 0.8 percent at $1,338.97 an ounce by 0805 GMT after rising to as high as $1,340.85, the highest in about a week. Prices last week fell 1.4 percent, their biggest drop in 2-1/2 months. US gold futures were up 0.9 percent at $1,341.9 per ounce.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.3 percent at 89.600. It had gained nearly 0.9 percent last week and pulled away from a three-year low of 88.253 set on February 16. "Global growth appetite is okay. So it's not safe-haven demand per se, but more of a currency influence," said OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan.
The US Federal Reserve, looking past a recent stock market sell-off and concern about inflation, on Friday said it sees steady growth continuing and no serious risks on the horizon that might pause its planned pace of rate hikes.
A bullish target at $1,354 per ounce for spot gold has been adjusted to $1,347, based on its current momentum, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Meanwhile, Asian share markets were in a cautious mood on Monday as investors braced for an event-packed week headlined by US inflation data and the first House testimony by the new head of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
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