• Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Monday as U.S. equities weakened.
• The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 4.9 U.S. dollars, or 0.41 percent, to settle at 1,196 dollars per ounce.
• Silver for March delivery rose 1.6 cents, or 0.09 percent, to close at 17.152 dollars per ounce.
• Traders spent the day focused on the fall in U.S. equities as the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 158 points, or 0.79 percent as of 1845 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.
• Investors are currently preparing for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting due to begin on Tuesday and end with a press conference and announcement on Wednesday after the market's close.
• Investors believe the Fed may raise rates from 0.75 to 1.00 during the March FOMC meeting at the earliest. According to the CME Group's Fedwatch tool, the current implied probability of a hike from 0.50 to at least 0.75 is at 4 percent at the February meeting and 21 percent for the March meeting.
Reference: Xinhua
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