Gold prices rose moderately in the first half of the session, returning to 15-month high, however, renewed strengthening of the dollar led investors back to the precious metal sales. As a result, gold has fallen below the low of yesterday's session.

On the trading dynamics also affect expectations of speeches of officials of the Federal Reserve System. Analysts point out that their statements may contain clues about further rate hikes. Recall, last week, the Fed kept rates unchanged and did not give a clear signal as to whether it is going to produce an increase in June. This decision was taken by the central bank on a background of mixed signals from the global economy and the slowdown in inflation in the United States. "Many market participants believe that the monetary policy of the various central banks will remain soft for a long period of time, as the US central bank rate will stay low for longer", - said Commerzbank analyst Daniel Briseman.

This week, investors will be particularly closely monitor the US data to gauge the strength of the economy and its impact on the monetary policy of the Fed. The key will be a report on non-farm payrolls. It is expected that the US economy added 200,000 jobs in April, slightly lower than in March (215 thousand.).

As for prospects, gold prices are likely to decline due to lack of support from the basic data on demand and continued. "We believe that the increase in exhaled about $ 1,300, which is not least due to the alignment of investment demand over the past two weeks," - says Marsten Menke, an analyst at Julius Baer.

In addition, it became known that the gold reserves in the largest investment fund SPDR Gold Trust rose on Monday at 20.8 tons to 824.94 tons. The latest increase was the highest since February 22. Currently, stocks are at their highest level since December 2013.

The cost of the June gold futures on the COMEX fell to $ 1286.9 per ounce.

The Chinese Markit/Caixin manufacturing PMI fell to 49.4 in April from 49.7 in March. The decrease was driven by declines in total new orders and new export work. Output was little-changed, while employment continued to decline.

"The fluctuations indicate the economy lacks a solid foundation for recovery and is still in the process of bottoming out," Dr. He Fan, Chief Economist at Caixin Insight Group, said.

"The government needs to keep a close watch on the risk of a further economic downturn," he added.

(raw materials / closing price /% change)

Oil 44.83 +0.11%

Gold 1,293.40 -0.19%