Gold futures hold steady near 2-week low

Gold futures were little changed near a two-week low on Monday, as ongoing uncertainty over the direction of U.S. monetary policy kept investors in a cautious mood.

Gold prices have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the Fed would start tapering its USD85-billion-a-month asset-purchase program by the end of the year.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,314.30 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.1%. 

Prices held in a tight range between USD1,311.00 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,315.80 a troy ounce. The December contract ended 0.79% lower on Friday to settle at USD1,313.20 a troy ounce.

Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,273.80 a troy ounce, the low from October 17 and resistance at USD1,327.30, the high from November 1.

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said earlier that the Fed should scale back its stimulus measures as soon as possible.

Speaking at a conference in Sydney on Monday, Fisher said a "fiscally irresponsible" U.S. government counteracted the effects of accommodative Fed policy. 

He also added that he did not expect the central bank's USD85-billion-a-month bond-buying program to increase or go on indefinitely.

“At the earliest possible moment we need to focus on transitioning back to having an interest-rate-driven monetary policy,” Fisher said.

Market players now looked ahead to the release of key U.S. economic data later in the week to help assess the timing for a reduction in the Fed’s bond-purchasing program.

The U.S. is set to release preliminary data on third quarter economic growth on Thursday, while October’s highly-anticipated nonfarm payrolls report is scheduled for Friday.

The central bank sounded more optimistic than anticipated in its assessment of the economy following its policy-setting meeting last week, sparking speculation the Fed could start tapering stimulus at its December meeting.

Gold traders have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.

Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery shed 0.65% to trade at USD21.70 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery declined 0.65% to trade at USD3.277 a pound.