Gold down on stronger U.S. dollar

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell on Monday as the U.S. dollar put pressure on the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 3.1 U.S. dollars, or 0.23 percent, to settle at 1,341.3 dollars per ounce.

The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose by 0.12 percent to 96.39 as of 1800 GMT.

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.

After Friday's release of positive U.S. jobs figures, the U.S. central bank has left the door open for a rate increase by year end. But given the Q2 GDP numbers, traders believe that is unlikely.

Previous Fed minutes led traders to believe that the Fed may raise rates from 0.50 to 0.75 during the December Fed policy meeting.

According to the CME Group's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to 0.75 is at 18 percent at the September 2016 meeting, 21 percent at the November 2016 meeting, and 48 percent at the December meeting.

The precious metal was prevented from falling further as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 24 points, or 0.13 percent as of 1800 GMT.

Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.

Traders are also waiting for the release of the weekly U.S. jobless claims on Thursday, along with the producer price index and retail sales reports, both due on Friday.

Silver for September delivery fell 1.2 cents, or 0.06 percent, to close at 19.805 dollars per ounce. Platinum for October delivery rose 3.9 dollars, or 0.34 percent, to close at 1,155.40 dollars per ounce. Endit