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Gold was little changed early on Monday, after touching a two-week low on Friday, as investors remained cautious ahead of central bank meetings in Japan and the United States this week.
Spot gold was steady at $1,310.06 an ounce by 0055 GMT. The yellow metal dropped 0.3 per cent to $1,306.26 on Friday, its lowest since September 1.
US gold futures rose 0.3 per cent to $1,313.50 an ounce.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.1 per cent at 95.998.
US consumer prices
US consumer prices rose more than expected in August as healthcare costs recorded their biggest gain in 32-1/2 years, pointing to a steady build-up of inflation that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates this year.
US Treasury yields rose on Friday after data showed that US consumer prices increased more than expected in August, raising the odds that the Federal Reserve will raise rates later this year.
Central bank meetings
Investors are counting down to the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee meeting on September 20-21, with chair Janet Yellen holding a news conference on Wednesday.
The Bank of Japan also meets on Wednesday and is expected to ease monetary policy, though conflicting reports on what it might do have created much uncertainty.
Peru will likely produce 4.5 million ounces of gold in 2017, the central bank had said on Friday, higher than its previous estimate for 4.1 million ounces, but below the 4.7 million ounces produced in 2015.
COMEX gold
Hedge funds and money managers lowered their net long positions in COMEX gold by 30,136 contracts to 248,858 contracts in the week to September 13, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.
SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 1.11 per cent to 942.61 tonnes on Friday.
Demand for gold in India remained lacklustre this week as higher prices hampered consumer purchases, but discounts narrowed due to a correction in overseas rates.
Asian shares
Caution gripped Asian shares on Monday ahead of central bank meetings in the United States and Japan this week, while oil prices bounced on talk of an OPEC deal on output and reports of fighting around Libyan oil ports.
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