Investing.com - Gold prices fell to the lowest levels of the session on Monday, after data showed that U.S. personal spending rose for the first time in three months in February, while personal income topped expectations.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for June delivery touched an intraday low of $1,182.70 a troy ounce, the weakest level since March 23, before trading at $1,184.80 during U.S. morning hours, down $15.90, or 1.32%.
On Friday, gold lost $5.00, or 0.41%, to close at $1,200.70. Futures were likely to find support at $1,178.60, the low from March 23, and resistance at $1,220.40, the high from March 26.
The Commerce Department said that personal spending inched up 0.1% last month, below expectations for a gain of 0.2%, while personal income rose 0.4%, above forecasts for a 0.3% increase.
Meanwhile, the core PCE price index inched up 0.1% in February, in line with expectations. On an annualized basis, the core PCE price index rose 1.4%, above forecasts for 1.3%.
The Federal Reserve uses core PCE as a tool to help determine whether to raise or lower interest rates, with the aim of keeping inflation at a rate of 2% or below.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.5% to 98.11 early on Monday. The index slid 0.66% last week, the second consecutive weekly decline.
Gold often moves inversely to the U.S. dollar, as prices become more expensive for buyers using other currencies.
The dollar pushed higher against the euro and the yen after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated Friday that the bank is likely to start raising interest rates later this year.
Investors were turning their attention to Friday’s U.S. employment report for February for further indications on the future path of monetary policy.
A strong U.S. nonfarm payrolls report was likely to add to speculation over when the Federal Reserve will begin to raise interest rates, while a weak number could boost gold by undermining the argument for an early rate hike.
Gold fell to a four-month low of $1,141.60 on March 17 amid concerns that the Fed will start raising rates as early as in June, before rallying for seven consecutive sessions after the Federal Reserve projected a slower pace of rate hikes.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery lost 35.9 cents, or 2.1%, to trade at $16.71 a troy ounce, while copper for May delivery tacked on 0.9 cents, or 0.33%, to trade at $2.777 a pound.
Copper remained supported amid speculation policymakers in China will do more to support growth following comments made by People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan over the weekend.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.