Gold stabilized after two days of losses that came as optimism faded that the US Federal Reserve would cut interest rates next month.
Bullion was trading slightly below $4,100 an ounce on Monday, after losing more than 2% in the previous session.
Expectations for another interest rate cut faded last week, as Federal Reserve officials showed little conviction about lowering borrowing costs. Lower interest rates typically make non-yielding gold more attractive to investors.
Traders and policymakers are awaiting a slew of delayed data due to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The lack of reliable statistics on the labor market and inflation for six weeks in the world's largest economy has made some officials more hesitant to commit to another interest rate cut next month.
Economic uncertainty is disrupting markets.
Traders are currently divided over the likelihood of an interest rate cut in December, after having priced in almost a quarter-point cut less than a month ago.
Hebei Chen, a strategist at Vantage Markets in Melbourne, said: The lockdown is over, but the data uncertainty it created is still confusing markets. The coming weeks will reveal figures we barely have a clear picture of.
Gold is still up about 55% this year, and on track for its best annual performance since 1979.
The sharp rise that hit a record high above $4,380 last month was fueled by heavy buying from central banks, while investors also flocked to precious metals as a safe haven against growing financial anxiety in some of the world’s largest economies.
Chen said: Despite the slight pullback, the medium- and long-term trend for gold remains intact, supported by expectations of a weaker dollar and investors' preference for safety, while near- and long-term prospects remain uncertain.
Gold rose 0.1% to $4,088.16 an ounce by 9:04 a.m. in Singapore. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index also rose 0.1%. Silver and palladium gained, while platinum remained unchanged.
