Investing.com - Gold futures were higher on Monday, amid expectations that the Federal Reserve will delay tapering its stimulus program in the aftermath of the 16-day U.S. government shutdown.
On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery traded at USD1,321.20 a troy ounce during European morning trade, up 0.5%.
Prices traded in range between USD1,312.80 a troy ounce, the daily low and a session high of USD1,323.90 a troy ounce. The December contract ended 0.63% lower on Friday to settle at USD1,314.60 a troy ounce.
Gold futures were likely to find support at USD1,273.80 a troy ounce, the low from October 17 and resistance at USD1,330.10, the high from October 8.
The dollar remained under pressure as concerns over the impact of the 16-day shutdown on the U.S. economic recovery fuelled expectations that the Fed would delay plans for rolling back its asset purchase program until at least the beginning of next year.
Investors were awaiting U.S. data releases later in the week after the shutdown delayed the release of some key economic reports. The September nonfarm payrolls report, which had been originally scheduled for release on October 4, was due on Tuesday.
Gold traders have closely been looking out for U.S. data reports recently to gauge if they will strengthen or weaken the case for the Fed to reduce its bond purchases.
Prices of the precious metal have largely tracked shifting expectations as to whether the U.S. central bank would start tapering its USD85-billion-a-month asset-purchase program by the end of the year.
The central bank is scheduled to meet October 29-30 to review the economy and assess policy.
Elsewhere on the Comex, silver for December delivery rose 1.35% to trade at USD22.20 a troy ounce, while copper for December delivery inched up 0.25% to trade at USD3.307 a pound.
