20.09.202110:47:00UTC+00Gold Edges Higher As Equity Markets Crash

Gold prices rose slightly on Monday as stocks in Asia and Europe slumped amid concerns around debt-laden Chinese developer Evergrande's inability to pay part of its huge debt due on Thursday.

A firmer dollar ahead of a week packed with no less than a dozen central bank meetings capped the upside in the precious metal.

Spot gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,760.03 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up half a percent at $1,759.55.

Evergrande's Hong-Kong listed shares plunged to an 11-year low as fears grew of a default on $300 billion of debt.

China's property giant Evergrande, the world's most indebted property developer with more than 300 billion dollars of liabilities, has to pay interests on its bonds with a payment deadline due on Thursday. The company has warned more than once that it could default.

Investors also await the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting starting on Tuesday for more clues about the withdrawal of the QE program.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that the tapering could happen this year depending upon the strengthening of the economy.

Other major central banks due to hold monetary policy meeting this week include the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank.