1st LD Writethru: Gold down ahead of Fed minutes

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell slightly on Monday as traders awaited the release of the Fed minutes.

The most active gold contract for June delivery fell 4.2 U.S. dollars, or 0.34 percent, to settle at 1,219.30 dollars per ounce.

Analysts noted a fall in the price of the precious metal ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee minutes on Wednesday and analysts thought latest comments from Fed official have boosted traders' expectations of early rate hike.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said Monday at a conference that interest rate hikes may occur sooner than the market expects given the resilience of the economy.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor showed nonfarm payrolls rising by 215,000 in March, higher than expectations. Analysts noted that although the unemployment rate increased to 5 percent, this is still a sign of a strengthening U.S. economy.

According to the CMEGroup's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to 0.75 is at 5 percent at the April 2016 meeting on Monday, and 26 percent at the June 2016 meeting.

On the economic front, a report from the U.S. Commerce Department showed Monday that U.S. new orders for manufactured goods in February fell in three of the last four months, decreasing 8.0 billion U.S. dollars or 1.7 percent to 454.0 billion dollars.

Silver for May delivery fell 10.2 cents, or 0.68 percent, to close at 14.944 dollars per ounce. Platinum for July delivery dropped 11.7 dollars, or 1.22 percent, to close at 943.50 dollars per ounce. Endit