WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold futures settled slightly lower on Monday, losing some ground after two successive days of gains, as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday.
A weak dollar limited the yellow metal's downside. The dollar index, which dropped to 100.59, recovered to 100.74, but still remained weak, losing about 0.37%.
Gold futures for September ended down $0.90 at $2,580.40 an ounce.
Silver futures for September settled at $30.771 an ounce, gaining $0.072 or about 0.23% at $30.771 an ounce, while Copper futures for September climbed to $4.2645 per pound, gaining $0.0285 or 0.68%.
The Fed is all set to announce its first interest rate cut for more than four years on Wednesday, but the size of cut is shaping up to be a close call.
On Friday, former New York Fed President Bill Dudley said that there was a strong case for a 50-basis point reduction. He said rates are currently 150-200 basis points above the so-called neutral rate for the U.S. economy, where policy is neither restrictive nor accommodative.
The Bank of England is expected to leave rates on hold at 5% on Thursday and investors would be watching for a decision over the pace of its bond sales.
The Bank of Japan meets on Friday and is widely expected to hold rates steady, but a majority of economists still expect an increase by year-end.
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