Investing.com - Gold futures were little changed near the previous session’s three-week low on Monday, amid speculation the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its asset purchase program at its December policy meeting. On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,284.70 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.05%. Prices held in a tight range between USD1,283.10 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,288.40 a troy ounce. The December contract fell to USD1,280.50 a troy ounce on Friday, the lowest since October 17, before settling at USD1,284.60 a troy ounce, down 1.83%. Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,273.80 a troy ounce, the low from October 17 and resistance at USD1,313.30, the high from November 8. Gold prices tumbled on Friday after official data showed that the U.S. economy added 204,000 jobs in October, much more than the 125,000 increase forecast by economists. September's figure was revised up to 163,000 from a previously reported 148,000. The robust data added to ongoing speculation that the Fed may start to scale back its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program as soon as next month. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six other major currencies, was up 0.05% to trade at 81.34, close to the previous session’s two-month high. A stronger U.S. dollar usually weighs on gold, as it dampens the metal's appeal as an alternative asset and makes dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies. Gold prices are down approximately 24% this year on concerns the Fed would begin cutting back its easy-money policy by trimming its USD85-billion monthly bond purchases. Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery inched up 0.2% to trade at USD21.36 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery added 0.3% to trade at USD3.263 a pound.

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