Gold prices were steady on Monday after mixed U.S. economic data last week left traders looking for more clues on the pace and scale of the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, with focus now shifting to a key inflation print due later this week.

 

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was unchanged at $2,044.49 per ounce, as of 0139 GMT, after falling for the week on Friday.

* U.S. gold futures rose 0.1% to $2,051.10 per ounce.

* Trading was thin in Asia, with the Japanese market remaining closed for a holiday.

* The dollar index was also steady, after marking its best week since July 2023 on Friday, making bullion more expensive for other currency holders, while benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields, held above 4%.

* U.S. employers hired more workers than expected in December, official data showed, but separate data from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) indicated that the services sector slowed considerably last month.

* Market participants are pricing in about a 64% chance of a rate cut by the U.S. central bank in March, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

* COMEX gold speculators raised their net long position by 2,009 contracts to 137,516 in the week to Jan. 2 , data showed on Friday.

* On the physical front, gold buying in major consumer India rose last week, as domestic prices fell back from record highs.

 

* Investors now await Thursday's U.S. consumer price inflation report for further direction on Fed's rate cut timings.

* Spot silver was little changed at $23.17 per ounce, while platinum rose 0.3% to $963.24, and palladium gained 0.3% to $1,030.28 after a nine-session slide.

DATA/EVENTS (GMT) 0700 Germany Industrial Orders Nov 1000 Euro Zone Unemployment Rate Nov 2000 US Consumer Credit Nov 2330 Japan CPI Tokyo Dec (Reporting by Harshit Verma in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)