Gold falls as dollar and stocks rise

Gold prices fell on Monday, as the US dollar rose against most currencies, as investors turned to risk assets such as stocks and shied away from safe havens.

US Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci said that the risks of the Omicron variant may have been exaggerated, noting that may be less dangerous than Delta.

Cases of Omicron have already appeared in the US, Europe and Asia, but with mild symptoms and no deaths have been reported.

The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.2% to 96.3 points as of 20:13 GMT, after hitting a high of 96.3 points and a low of 96.1 points.

Gold spot prices fell 0.2% to $1,779.6 an ounce as of 20:23 GMT.