Gold has been stuck in a range for the past five days, struggling to regain momentum after falling around 10% from the record high of $4,381.29 reached in October.
Prices edged higher in Asian trading on Monday but gave back much of those gains in early European hours. Spot gold was trading at $3,998 an ounce by 10:20 GMT.
The metal remains under pressure after two straight weeks of declines, with uncertainty over future US interest rate cuts and easing trade tensions dulling its safe-haven appeal.
Bullion’s weakness comes despite the Federal Reserve’s 25-basis-point rate cut last week. Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comment that further cuts were “not a foregone conclusion” tempered investor optimism and lifted the dollar, weighing on gold.
That cautious tone, echoed by several Fed officials, has seen traders scale back bets on another rate reduction in December, leaving gold struggling for direction.
The outlook was further dampened by easing geopolitical tensions after US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to reduce trade barriers during last week’s meeting in Busan.
While the talks stopped short of a full trade deal, the framework for tariff reductions and increased Chinese imports of American goods helped calm markets, and in turn, capped demand for gold.