Gold is currently at $1,072.00 (-0.30%). Bullion gave up Friday's gains as investors prepared for the looming Federal Open Market Committee meeting on December 15-16. The central bank of the U.S. is widely expected to raise rates at this meeting. Higher rates increase the opportunity cost of holding the non-interest paying precious metal and reduce demand for it.

The People's Bank of China added 20.8 tonnes of gold to its reserves in November. However these purchases failed to support prices.