By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Gold was down on Monday morning in Asia, but stabilized after hitting its lowest in nearly two weeks. Some losses in gold were capped by worries about Europe’s soaring COVID-19 case numbers.

They were at $1,846.80 (11:17 ET) by 11:00 AM GMT. Although the, which moves in an opposite direction to gold, climbed slightly on Monday, it retreated from Friday’s record high.

U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers continue to discuss whether asset tapering should be accelerated. Fed Vice Chairman Richard Clarida, Governor Christopher Waller, and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard have all hinted that speeding up the process could be on the agenda at the central bank’s next meeting in December.

U.S. President Joe Biden is yet to choose whether incumbent Jerome Powell or Fed Governor Lael Brainard will chair the Fed once Powell’s term ends in February 2022.

As the Atlantic crosses, increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients in Europe prompted Neighboring Germany to take more restrictive measures.

Federal Bank President Jens Weidmann warned Friday that inflation may remain above 2.2% for some time and the European Central Bank should not make any promises to keep the money taps open.

SPDR Gold Trust P: reported its holdings rose 0.8% from 976.87 tonnes on Thursday to 985 tons Friday. This is a sign of the mood. The week before, there was a decline in physical gold demand at major Asian centers. Indian dealers are optimistic about the future wedding season.

Other precious metals saw silver drop 0.1% while platinum fell 0.6% at $1,025.33 while palladium dropped 0.7%.