Investing.com - Gold prices started the week on the back foot on Monday, sliding to their lowest level since the end of August, as investors looked ahead to a Federal Reserve policy meeting for insights into the outlook for monetary policy.
Comex gold futures were at $1,320.02 a troy ounce by 3:40AM ET (0740GMT), down $5.30, or around 0.4%. It fell to its lowest since Aug. 31 at $1,318.48 earlier in the session.
The yellow metal lost nearly 2% last week, its first weekly decline in a month, as investor interest in riskier assets, such as stocks, found buying interest.
A key focus for markets this week is the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that ends on Wednesday.
The Fed is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged this week, but is likely to announce a plan to start shrinking its massive $4.5 trillion balance sheet in an effort to normalize policy.
Markets will also be looking for further clues on the timing of the next Fed rate hike, with around 60% of market players expecting a move by December, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures inched down 9.3 cents, or about 0.5%, to $17.60 a troy ounce.
Among other precious metals, platinum shed 0.2% to $969.50, while palladium tacked on roughly 0.6% to $926.88 an ounce.