Gold firm

Bengaluru: Gold prices held steady on Monday as a wavering dollar and rising equity markets offset rising inflation expectations that have spurred recent safe-haven purchases of the metal.

Spot gold was mostly unchanged at $1,347.50 an ounce by 0824 GMT. The metal rose 2.4 percent last week in its best weekly gain in more than five months, as investors bought gold on fears of rising inflation in the United States.

U.S. gold slipped 0.4 percent to $1,350 per ounce.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.1 percent at 89.174, after slipping by the same percentage earlier in the session. Asian shares gained on Monday, joining a global recovery in equity markets as sentiment improved after a shakeout sparked by fears of inflation and higher borrowing costs.