LONDON: Gold fell 1 per cent on Monday, after posting its biggest weekly gain in two months, as the dollar firmed before a Federal Reserve meeting that could provide clues on the timing of a possible interest rate rise by the US central bank.

Spot gold fell to a session low of $1,206.51 an ounce, and was down 1pc at $1,209.41 by 1440 GMT.

US gold futures for Febru­ary delivery also slipped 1pc to $1,210.20 an ounce.

Holdings of the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York-listed SPDR Gold Shares, posted their biggest weekly rise in five months last week, at 4.8 tonnes. That also marks the first time the trust’s holdings have risen for two consecutive weeks since mid-July.

Silver fell 1.1pc to $16.80 an ounce, while platinum 1.1pc to $1,211.25 an ou­nce. Palladium slipped 0.4pc at $808 an ounce.—Reuters

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2014