Gold market

Gold futures were quiet in early trading hours on Monday, as market players awaited further economic data in the US to see the effects on the dollar, while activity remains low.

 On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures were down 0.02 percent at $1.287.20 a troy ounce as of 05:50 GMT.

 The yellow metal settled slightly higher on Tuesday as a continuous weakening of the US dollar supported demand for bullion.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was trading 0.14 percent higher at 93.00 by the time of this writing.

The American currency remained under pressure in the light of an empty economic agenda and low trading volumes between major holidays (Christmas and New Year).

Gold is sensitive to changes in the US dollar, in which the metal is denominated. A softer base currency makes bullion cheaper and more appealing for investors holding foreign currencies.

Last week, Goldman Sachs said gold prices are expected to meet a $1,200 per troy ounce target in the middle of 2018 and then to spike to $1,375 closer to 2020.

By the end of last week, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reported that hedge funds and money managers had risen their net long stance in the precious metal in the week ended December 19 to 113,800, adding 6,700 or 6 .3% from the prior week.

Ahead in the session, traders will keep an eye on UK BBA mortgage approvals at 09:30 GMT, followed by US CB consumer confidence for December as of 15:00 GMT and pending home sales for November at the same time.