Gold declined today to near 7-week lows, back below the USD1,200 threshold ahead of the highly anticipated speech of ECB president Mario Draghi at 14:00 GMT and FED chair Janet Yellen's semi-annual testimony to the Senate Banking Committee later in the day. Markets will closely watch the testimony for clues as to when the world's largest economy may raise interest rates. Last weeks minutes of the FED's policy meeting showed that some members are concerned that a rate hike would slow down the economic recovery.

Greece submitted a comprehensive list of reforms as asked by the E.U. as condition of an extension of the bailout for four months. According to officials the list was "sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of the review.".

A stronger U.S. dollar and the prospect for higher U.S. rates weigh on the precious metal as the precious metal is dollar-denominated and not yield-bearing.

The precious metal is currently quoted at USD1,196.90 -0,36% a troy ounce. Gold fell 2.3% last week, a fourth straight weekly loss. On Thursday the 22nd of January gold reached a five-month high at USD1,307.40.