2021.03.1519:03:00UTC+00Gold Futures Settle At 2-week High

Gold prices moved higher on Monday and the most active gold futures contracts rose to a two-week high, as the yield on long term government bonds dropped a bit. However, the dollar's uptick limited the bullion's gains.

Traders were looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement due later in the week. The central bank's views on the recent spike in bond yields will be in focus.

The dollar index, which rose to 91.97, eased ti 91.81 later, but was still up 0.15% from previous close.

Gold futures for April ended higher by $9.40 or about 0.6% at $1,729.20 an ounce, the best close since March 2.

Silver futures for May ended higher by $0.377 or about 1.5% at $26.288 an ounce.

Copper futures for May settled at $4.1405 per pound, little changed from Friday's close.

A report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Monday showed an acceleration in the pace of growth in New York manufacturing activity in the month of March.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed to 17.4 in March from 12.1 in February, with a positive reading indicating growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to rise to 14.5

Looking ahead, the New York Fed said firms remained optimistic that conditions would improve over the next six months, anticipating significant increases in employment.

In news from China, data showed China's industrial production jumped 35.1% year-on-year in the period including January and February - beating forecasts for an increase of 30%.

Retail sales spiked an annual 33.8% to exceed expectations while weaker-than-expected investment growth and rise in unemployment disappointed markets.

The Bank of Japan and the Bank of England's monetary policy statements are also due later this week.