Spot gold held near $3,900 an ounce in Monday trading on 2 November, steadying after last week's slide to a one-year low and a rebound into the new week. Quotes through the session varied by time and source, so no single figure tells the whole story: Kitco quoted $3,900.40 an ounce in early US trading, GoldPrice.com quoted $3,904.48, and one research note recorded a session range of $3,891.89 to $3,918.28.

The steadiness follows a turbulent week. Gold fell below $3,900 on Friday to its lowest in a year as traders priced in a higher chance of a December US rate rise, then recovered as the new week opened. RM Intelligence put the prior session close at $3,889.96, with spot up 0.64% at $3,914.90 in early Monday trading, a gain of just under $25 on the session.

Rate expectations still driving gold

Gold remains sensitive to US interest-rate expectations. The Federal Reserve held rates in late October while signalling a possible December rise, and traders are now watching US inflation data and the 6 November payrolls report for the next clue. Higher rate expectations tend to weigh on gold, which pays no interest, while weaker data or geopolitical tension tends to support it.

Monday's calm in gold contrasted with a sharp fall in oil, where Brent slipped more than 3% on hopes for progress in Iran-Qatar talks. For now, gold is consolidating well below its January record highs, with the market caught between rate-hike bets pulling it down and haven demand from the Middle East conflict holding it up.

Sources: Kitco; GoldPrice.com. Note: spot quotes differ by source and time of day; figures above are quoted with their sources, not averaged.