Gold falls to 3-week low as Fed taper concerns weigh

Gold futures fell to a three-week low on Monday, as renewed uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus measures weighed on sentiment.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,283.20 a troy ounce during U.S. morning trade, down 0.15%. 

Comex gold prices fell to USD1,278.50 a troy ounce earlier, the lowest since October 17.

The December contract settled 1.83% lower on Friday to end at USD1,284.60 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to find short-term support at USD1,273.80 a troy ounce, the low from October 17 and resistance at USD1,313.30, the high from November 8.

Speculation that the Fed may start to taper its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program as soon as next month mounted after official data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October, much more than the 125,000 increase forecast by economists. 

Gold prices are down approximately 24% this year on concerns the Fed will begin to scale back its stimulus sooner than expected.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery inched up 0.3% to trade at USD21.38 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery dipped 0.05% to trade at USD3.252 a pound.