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CHICAGO, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Monday as investors continued preparing their positions for the United Kingdom to exit the Eurozone.
The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 3.8 U.S. dollars, or 0.31 percent, to settle at 1,234.00 dollars per ounce.
The market's focus on Monday was primarily on weakness in the U.S. dollar near the beginning of the trading session, but as of 1700 GMT, the U.S. dollar had regained its position and was positive, at which point the focus became potential geopolitical instability triggered by Brexit.
Investors are also carefully monitoring comments by Fed officials as the market continues to react to last week' s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Many believe the Fed may raise rates from 1.00 to 1.25 during the June FOMC meeting.
According to the CME Group' s Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 1.00 to 1.25 is at 6 percent at the May meeting and 52 percent for the June meeting, along with a 3 percent chance of an increase to a 1.5 rate.
Gold was put under pressure as the U.S. Dollar Index rose by 0.02 percent to 100.34 as of 1710 GMT. The index is a measure of the dollar against a basket of major currencies. Gold and the dollar typically move in opposite directions, which means if the dollar goes up, gold futures will fall as gold, measured by the dollar, becomes more expensive for investors.
The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 20.51 points, or 0.1 percent as of 1710 GMT. Analysts note that when equities post losses, the precious metal usually goes up, as investors are looking for a safe haven, while the opposite is true when U.S. equities post gains.
Traders are waiting for the release of several economic reports. No major economic data is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, the existing home sales report on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims and new home sales on Thursday, durable goods orders and PMI composite flash on Friday.
Silver for May delivery rose 2.5 cents, or 0.14 percent, to close at 17.438 dollars per ounce. Platinum for April delivery added 9.4 dollars, or 0.98 percent, to close at 972.40 dollars per ounce. Enditem
