Gold prices rebouned in Asia on Monday as investors looked ahead to a central bank focused week.
Gold for December delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.15% to $1,164.50 a troy ounce.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for December delivery fell 0.01% to $15.825 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery fell 0.07% to $2.348 a pound as persistent worries about future demand from top consumer China weighed.
The People's Bank of China cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.35% on Friday, the latest in a series of measures aimed at stimulating economic activity and boosting growth.
It was the sixth rate cut over the past 12 months, fueling concerns that economic growth is weakening more than is currently expected.
The moves come several days after Chinese government data showed third-quarter economic growth slowed to 6.9%, the first time since the global financial crisis that the country’s gross domestic product has grown less than 7%.
The Asian nation is the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for almost 40% of world consumption last year.
Last week, gold futures declined for the third straight day on Friday, to end the week sharply lower as a broadly stronger U.S. dollar dampened the appeal of the precious metal.
The dollar surged against the euro after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi signaled further monetary easing could be on deck for the euro zone as early as December. The comments came at the ECB's post-meeting press conference on Thursday.
Meanwhile, markets began to turn their attention to the Federal Reserve's policy meeting next week. Investors have been trying to gauge when the Fed will raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade after recent economic reports offered a mixed picture of the U.S. economy.
The timing of a Fed rate hike has been a constant source of debate in the markets in recent months. The U.S. central bank has two more scheduled policy meetings before the end of the year: next week and in December.
In the week ahead, investors will be focusing on Wednesday’s monetary policy announcement by the Federal Reserve for fresh indications on the timing of an initial rate hike.
Market participants will also be awaiting a preliminary estimate of third quarter growth from the U.S. on Thursday to gauge the strength of the economy.
On Monday, in the euro zone, the Ifo Institute is to report on German business climate.
The U.S. is to release data on new home sales
