 "Gold")
Gold prices inched up on Monday, hovering close to a 2-1/2-month peak after disappointing U.S. jobs data raised hopes the Federal Reserve could wait a bit longer to pare its stimulus measures.
Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,827.82 per ounce by 0646 GMT. In the previous session, prices hit their highest since June 16 at $1,833.80.
U.S. gold futures eased 0.2% to $1,829.60.
Gold is being supported by the notion that the Fed will be slower to taper than previously thought, and a weak U.S. dollar, said IG Market analyst Kyle Rodda.
Labor Department data showed on Friday U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 235,000 jobs last month, far below economists' expectation of 728,000.
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Fed Chair Jerome Powell had hinted last month that strong jobs recovery was a pre-requisite for the central bank to start paring back its asset purchases.
Some investors view gold as a hedge against inflation that may follow stimulus measures, while lower interest rates reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion.
After the data all gold could manage was a modest rally that never threatened the major resistance zone lying between $1830.00 and $1834.00, Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst, Asia Pacific at OANDA said in a note.
"The price action on Friday reinforces that gold's upward momentum is waning," he added.
The dollar index hovered near a one-month trough versus major peers. [USD/]
On the European Central Bank later this week to announce a cut to the pace of its emergency bond purchases from next quarter.
Meanwhile, a government source said that India's gold imports in August nearly doubled from a year earlier as weaker prices prompted jewellers to ramp up purchases for the festive season.
Silver rose 0.4% to $24.78 per ounce. Prices rose 3.4% in the previous session, its biggest one-day percentage gain since early May.
Platinum eased 0.2% to $1,023.06, while palladium rose 0.3% to $2,429.44.
U.S. markets were closed on Monday for a holiday.
(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Ramakrishnan M. and Louise Heavens)
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
