Spot gold fell 0.9% to $2,630.99 an ounce as of 09:06 GMT. It had earlier fallen 1% in the session.
US gold futures fell 1.01% to $2,653.80 an ounce. The US Dollar Index rose 0.5%, heading for its biggest one-day gain in more than a week, making dollar-priced gold more expensive for investors using other currencies.
Investors are watching upcoming economic data and speeches from Federal Reserve officials for clues on the future of US interest rates.
"President-elect Donald Trump's comments calling on BRICS countries not to shift away from the US dollar are supporting the greenback and putting some pressure on gold prices today," said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at Union Bank of Switzerland.
Last Saturday, Mr Trump called on the BRICS nations to pledge not to establish or support an alternative currency to the US dollar.
At the same time, Mr. Donald Trump warned that BRICS countries would be taxed 100% of their goods if they introduced a reserve currency to compete with the USD. Mr. Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to use tariffs to achieve his geopolitical goals.
Anyone who wants to replace the dollar can “wave goodbye to America,” the president-elect declared. “The idea that the BRICS countries are trying to move away from the dollar while we stand by and watch is over,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social network on November 30.
Gold prices fell more than 3% in November, the biggest monthly decline since September 2023, on concerns that the Trump administration’s tax plans could prolong a period of high interest rates. A further slowdown in the US economy is expected to prompt the Fed to cut interest rates in December, boosting investment demand and pushing gold prices to $2,900 an ounce by mid-2025, Staunovo added.
Major brokerages maintained their forecasts for a 25 basis point Fed rate cut in December, after the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index released last Wednesday matched market expectations.
Key economic events in the US this week include employment data, the ADP employment report and non-farm payrolls. Speeches from Fed officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, will also attract attention.
“Gold’s status as a safe-haven asset could continue to support demand – amid persistent policy uncertainty that could negatively impact the global economy, along with various geopolitical tensions – as well as central bank buying,” analysts at National Australia Bank (one of the four largest banks in Australia) wrote in a note.
In other markets, spot silver fell 1.3% to $30.22 an ounce, platinum fell 0.4% to $941.70, and palladium fell 1.1% to $967.49.
