By Eileen Soreng
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Gold prices inched down on Monday as the U.S. dollar steadied and as signs of easing tensions on the Korean peninsula reduced safe-haven demand for the metal.
Spot gold had fallen 0.3 percent to $1,318.23 per ounce by 0639 GMT. U.S. gold futures for June delivery declined 0.3 percent to $1,319.20 per ounce. Prices have dropped about 0.5 percent so far in April.
"Gold is still tracked very closely with the dollar," said Helen Lau, analyst at Argonaut Securities.
The dollar index, which touched a 3-1/2-month high of 91.986 on Friday, was steady at 91.543.
The greenback has risen as much as 1.7 percent so far this month, its strongest monthly gain since November, 2016.
Markets were mostly quiet on Monday with Japan, China and India on holiday and as much of Asia will be closed on Tuesday.
"Geopolitical risks also seem to be turning around ... Everybody want to come to the table and negotiate a deal," Lau added.
At their summit on Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared they would take steps to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended only with a truce, and work towards the "denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula.
Separately, a delegation of U.S. officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and President Donald Trump's top economic and trade advisers are all expected in China later this week for trade negotiations.
Gold is often used as a store of value during times of financial or political uncertainty.
"Gold positions continued to be rolled back as the markets are adjusting portfolios given the increased potential for the dollar to rise in the weeks ahead becomes a reality," said Stephen Innes, APAC trading head at OANDA.
Hedge funds and money managers trimmed their net long position in COMEX gold contracts and switched to a net long position in silver contracts in the week to April 24, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed on Friday.
Spot gold looks neutral in a range of $1,317-$1,326 per ounce, and an escape could suggest a direction, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.
Among other precious metals silver was down 0.6 percent at $16.40 per ounce, after it touched a three-week low of $16.37. However, prices are up about 0.7 percent for April so far.
Platinum was down 0.5 percent at $906.00 per ounce and was on track to record its third consecutive monthly fall, down over 2 percent.
Palladium fell 0.5 percent to $969.22 per ounce, but was set to post its biggest monthly gain since December.
(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Joseph Radford)
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
