By Gina Lee

– Gold was down on Monday morning in Asia, but stabilized after hitting its lowest in nearly two weeks. Concerns over the soaring numbers of COVID-19 cases in Europe helped cap some losses for gold, however.

Gold futures were down 0.26% to $1,846.80 by 11:17 PM ET (4:17 AM GMT). The dollar, which normally moves inversely to gold, inched up on Monday but retreated from its record level hit on Friday.

Policymakers from the U.S. Federal Reserve continue to publicly debate whether to quicken asset tapering. Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, Governor Christopher Waller, and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard have all hinted that speeding up the process could be on the agenda at the central bank’s next meeting in December.

U.S. President Joe Biden is yet to choose whether incumbent Jerome Powell or Fed Governor Lael Brainard will chair the Fed once Powell’s term ends in February 2022.

Across the Atlantic, rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Europe forced Austria into a full lockdown starting on Monday. Neighboring Germany is also looking to tighten restrictive measures.

On the central bank front, Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann on Friday warned that inflation could stay above 2% for some time, and the European Central Bank should avoid any commitment to keeping the money taps open.

In an indication of sentiment, SPDR Gold Trust (P:GLD) said its holdings rose 0.8% to 985 tons on Friday from 976.87 tons on Thursday. Demand for physical gold in major Asian hubs decreased during the previous week. However, dealers in India are looking to the upcoming wedding season for an uptick.

In other precious metals, silver inched down 0.1%, platinum eased 0.6% to $1,025.33 and palladium fell 0.7%.