Gold futures rose Monday, building on a third straight week of gains ahead of a heavy schedule of central-bank meetings and economic data that could shape the near-term price outlook for the metal. Gold for December delivery rose in electronic trade by $5.60, or 0.4%, to $1,327.50 an ounce. Gold for August delivery also rose $5.40, or 0.4%, to $1,327.30 an ounce. The futures got a small boost from a falling U.S. dollar, with the ICE dollar index slipping to 81.549 from late Friday's 81.665. A weaker U.S. unit can help dollar-denominated gold prices, by making them cheaper for holders of other currencies The August and December gold contracts last week each rose 2.2%, and over the past three weeks, prices for the most-active contracts rose nearly 9%, according to FactSet data. With gold and silver "prices depressed to multi-year lows and the future scale of quantitative easing (QE) still in question, many experts view current precious-metals prices as an excellent buying opportunity for investors," online precious-metals dealer APMEX Inc. wrote on Friday. A packed week of updates for the market includes the first reading of second-quarter gross domestic product in the U.S., manufacturing data from major gold consumer China, and monetary-policy decisions from the European Central Bank and Bank of England. But of special focus, the U.S. Labor Department is set to release its widely watched monthly jobs report on Friday, while the Federal Reserve on Wednesday is scheduled to announce its policy decision. The Fed's message should "remain markedly dovish," as the central bank has said "monetary policy must remain accommodative for an extended period, and the gradual tapering of purchases will not imply the beginning of a restriction, but rather ongoing stimulus at a slower pace," Intesa Sanpaolo economist Giovanna Mossetti wrote in a report Friday. Monetary stimulus from the Fed and other central banks to aid economic growth has been credited for pushing gold prices higher in recent years. On Wednesday, figures are expected to show the U.S. grew just 1% in the second quarter, down from 1.8% in the first three months of 2013. On Friday, the Labor Department may say the U.S. economy created 175,000 jobs in July and that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.5% from 7.6%, according to economists polled by MarketWatch. Ahead of trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, silver for September delivery rose 2 cents to $19.80. Silver finished higher last week, by 1.6%. Read: Some analysts see the $20 level as a good buy. September copper lost 1 cent to $3.10 a pound. Prices last week fell roughly 1% on concerns about the risk of lower demand from China, the biggest user of the metal. October platinum rose $6.60, or 0.5%, to $1,429.40 an ounce. The move followed last week's decline of 0.6%. September palladium fell 50 cents to $723.50 an ounce after finishing last week lower by more than 3%. Source : Marketwatch
