1st LD Writethru: Gold down ahead of U.S. Fed officials' speeches

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell Monday as traders prepared their positions for U.S. Federal Reserve officials' speeches scheduled for this week.

The most active gold contract for April delivery lost 1.5 U.S. dollars, or 0.12 percent, to settle at 1,220.10 dollars per ounce.

The precious metal was put under pressure as Fed officials, including Chair Janet Yellen are set to make remarks later this week. Analysts believe that the Fed is bullish on the U.S. economy despite recent global economic turmoil from low energy prices.

Ever since the March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the policy-making panel of the Fed, traders believe that the Fed may raise rates from 0.50 to 0.75 during the FOMC's meeting in June. According to the CMEGroup's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to 0.75 is at 10 percent at the April 2016 meeting, and at 41 percent at the June 2016 meeting.

Gold was also put under pressure as a report released by the U.S. Department of Commerce Monday showed exports increasing by 2.0 percent and imports increasing by 1.6 percent. There is a trade deficit of 62.9 billion U.S. dollars.

The precious metal was prevented from falling further as the U.S. Dollar Index fell by 0.44 to 95.94 as of 1900 GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.

Silver for May delivery fell 0.9 cent, or 0.06 percent, to close at 15.19 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery dropped 7.7 dollars, or 0.81 percent, to close at 944.70 dollars per ounce. Endit