Singapore: Gold steadied above the $1,300 an ounce support level on Monday, aided by anticipation of increased geopolitical risks as the United States began demanding answers from Russia after a Malaysian plane was downed in eastern Ukraine.

Fundamentals

Spot gold was little changed at $1,308.70 an ounce. US gold for August delivery was also steady at $1,309.90 an ounce. US Secretary of State John Kerry laid out what he called overwhelming evidence of Russian complicity in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 as international horror deepened over the fate of the victims' remains.

Spot gold jumped 1.4 per cent on Thursday when news of the downed Malaysian plane that killed 298 people on board first came to light. But investor’s quickly banked profits the following day, causing bullion to fall 2 percent on week, its first weekly drop in seven.

Anger is mounting over the plane incident. Australia's prime minister expressed deep concern that Russian-backed rebels remained in control of the crash site, saying the site looked more like a 'garden clean-up' than a forensic investigation.

Anglo American Plc will unveil on Monday its plan to dispose of its oldest South African platinum mines, a move that would reduce the global miner's staff count by a fifth of its total workforce, the Sunday Times reported.

SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings rose 0.2 per cent to 805.14 tonnes on Friday. Hedge funds and money managers cut bullish bets on gold futures and options this week for the first time in six weeks as prices tumbled as fears faded over the health of the banking sector in euro zone peripheral economies.