The price of gold was little changed Monday morning amid speculation that European Central Bank may cut interest rates to rev up its economy.
Gold for December delivery, the most actively traded contract, edged up $3.50 to $1,316.70 an ounce. Last week, gold lost about 3 percent as the dollar strengthened against some major currencies after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its quantitative easing program intact following a policy review meet.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, moved down to 866.32 tons from 872.02 tons.
Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was hovering around its 2-week high versus the euro, sterling, the Swiss franc and the yen.
In economic news, Germany's manufacturing sector grew at a faster-than-expected rate during October, led by growth in production and new orders, survey data released by Markit Economics showed .The final Markit/BME Germany Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.7 from September's 51.1. The flash estimate was 51.5.
Meanwhile, the euro zone manufacturing sector carried its modest third quarter recovery into the final quarter of the year as initially estimated, final data from Markit Economics showed. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.3, in line with flash estimate from 51.1 in September.
Elsewhere, the U.K. construction output grew at the steepest pace since September 2007, survey results from Markit Economics showed. The Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply construction Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 59.4 in October, up from 58.9 in September and above the 50.0 no-change threshold for the sixth consecutive month.
Meantime, the prices of silver and platinum were trading mixed in morning deals.
From the U.S., the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its factory orders reports for both August and September at 10 a.m ET. Economists expect orders to have risen by 0.3 percent month-over-month in August following a 2.4 percent decline in July. The September report is expected to show a 1.7 percent increase in factory orders.
