Gold steadies as bargain hunters see off dollar's advance

By Seher Dareen

(Reuters) - Gold steadied on Monday as bargain hunting offset pressure from the dollar's advance following the U.S. Federal Reserve's signs that it was not softening its fight against inflation.

Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,772.94 per ounce by 01:32 p.m. ET (1832 GMT) after falling 1% earlier in the day.

U.S. gold futures settled up 0.4% at $1,776.9.

The gains in the dollar and U.S. yields were weighing on gold, said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals, adding that bargain hunting by bulls emboldened by previous week's gains could have helped gold's slight recovery.

Gold prices could go sideways to higher in the near term, Wyckoff added.

The dollar index rose 0.4%, while 10-year Treasury yields also gained, making gold more expensive for overseas buyers. [USD/]

"Gold appears to have strong resistance with the $1,800 level, with decent support at the $1,750 region," Edward Moya, senior analyst with OANDA, said in a note.

Bullion reported its best weekly gain since March 2020 last week on hopes of slower rate hikes after data showed price pressure cooling in the United States.

Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard on Monday joined Governor Christopher Waller, to indicate the Fed is ready to begin moving in smaller rate hike increments, while still emphasizing what Brainard called the central bank's "resolve" to keep pushing rates higher as needed to battle a surge of inflation.

While gold is considered a hedge against inflation, rising rates tend to dull bullion's appeal as it pays no interest.

Fed funds futures traders see an 89% probability of a 50 basis point increase at the central bank's December meeting, with only an 11% likelihood of a 75 basis point rise.

Spot silver jumped 1.5% to $22 per ounce and reached its highest since June 9. Platinum fell 0.3% to $1,026, off its highest since mid-March reached in the last session.

Palladium was steady at $2,040.64 per ounce.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Rahul Paswan; Editing by Sandra Maler, Shounak Dasgupta and Shailesh Kuber)