2017.12.1802:14:00UTC+00Gold Prices Slightly Lower as Dollar Firms on US Tax Bill Hopes

Gold prices inched down on Monday as the dollar firmed after a bill to overhaul the tax system in the United States moved a step closer to ratification.

Spot gold fell around 0.1 percent to $1,254.40 per ounce.

U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,257.70 per ounce.

The dollar held modest gains on Monday, having received a lift after top U.S. Republicans said they expected Congress to pass a tax code overhaul this week. A Senate vote could come as early as Tuesday and President Donald Trump aims to sign the bill before the week is out.

Expectations that tax reductions would fuel economic growth and prompt faster interest rate hikes in the United States have boosted the dollar and weighed on gold.

Spot gold faces a resistance at $1,262 per ounce and may waver below this level or retrace to a support at $1,239, Reuters technicals analyst Wang Tao said.

Hedge funds and money managers trimmed their net long positions in COMEX gold contracts in the week to Dec. 12, while they switched to a net short stance in silver for the first time in five months, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed on Friday.

In other precious metals, silver and palladium were flat at $16.04 an ounce and $1,022.95 per ounce, respectively.

Platinum fell 0.3 percent at $890.50 per ounce, after earlier hitting its best since Dec. 8 at $896.80.