Gold prices firm in narrow range as weaker dollar buoys bullion demand

By Bharat Gautam

(Reuters) - Gold prices edged higher in choppy trade on Monday as a weaker dollar buoyed bullion demand, with a U.S. holiday expected to lead to thin trading during the day.

Spot gold firmed 0.1% to $1,841.59 per ounce by 0717 GMT, after falling as much as 0.3% earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures gained 0.2% to $1,843.40.

The dollar index eased from near its highest level in about two decades, rekindling some demand for greenback-priced bullion among overseas buyers. [USD/]

"It is a public holiday in the U.S. today, which means liquidity - and therefore volatility - is likely to be lower, thus making directional moves on gold difficult without a fresh catalyst," City Index senior market analyst Matt Simpson said.

Federal government offices, the Federal Reserve System, and stock and bond markets in the United States will be closed on Monday for the Juneteenth holiday.

Asian shares slipped on Monday and Wall Street futures eked out slight gains amid worries the U.S. Federal Reserve would this week underline its commitment to fighting inflation with whatever rate pain was required. [MKTS/GLOB]

"Gold has effectively been in a choppy range since May 19 between $1,805 and $1,880. And that makes it more of a traders' market than an investors' market. We think traders will opt to buy dips above $1,800 and sell rallies below $1,880," Simpson said.

Gold wrapped up the previous week lower as a stronger dollar and interest rate hikes by major central banks dented the appeal of bullion, which yields no interest.

However, SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 1.1% to 1,075.54 tonnes on Friday from 1,063.94 tonnes on Thursday. [GOL/ETF]

Spot silver fell 0.3% to $21.59 per ounce, platinum was up 0.3% to $934.93, and palladium climbed 2.5% to $1,860.05.

 

(Reporting by Bharat Govind Gautam and additional reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Subhranshu Sahu)