Gold prices were mostly steady after hitting a six-week high on Monday as early risk-off sentiment set the tone, with investors focused on a potential U.S. rate cut later this month, while silver touched a record high.
Spot gold was down 0.1% to $4,225.91 per ounce as of 0534 GMT after touching its highest since October 21. U.S. gold futures for December delivery gained 0.1% to $4,260.20.
Silver jumped 0.7% to $56.78 per ounce after earlier hitting an all-time high of $57.86.
The U.S. dollar fell to a two-week low, making greenback-priced bullion cheaper for holders of other currencies.
"There's a risk-off session in S&P futures, which are down 0.8% in line with a sell off in major cryptocurrencies. So that has also created a bit of positive feedback loop into gold as a safe haven asset play in today's much more thinly traded session," said OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong.
U.S. stock futures were lower in Asian trade, while among cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 3.6% to $87,881.82 and ether dropped 5% to $2,871.59.
Recent dovish remarks from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller and New York Fed President John Williams, alongside softer U.S. data, have reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will ease policy in December. Futures imply an 87% chance of a rate cut, according to the CME's FedWatch tool.
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, seen as a frontrunner for Fed Chair, said on Sunday he would be happy to take the job if appointed by President Donald Trump. Like Trump, Hassett believes rates should be lower.
Markets now await core U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures figures on Friday for further cues on the Fed's policy path.
Lower borrowing costs tend to support non-yielding bullion.
Silver prices have moved higher amid thin liquidity caused by the CME outage last week, rather than any fundamental factors, Wong added.
Among other precious metals, platinum rose 0.6% to $1,683.03, while palladium gained 1% to $1,465.44. - Reuters
