2017.09.2422:40:00UTC+00Gold Prices Drop on Stronger Dollar, Weaker Euro

Gold prices eased on Monday, after marking a second straight weekly decline the previous week, as the U.S. dollar strengthened while the euro slipped due to political uncertainty in Germany.

Spot gold fell 0.4 percent to $1,292.40 an ounce. It dropped around 1.7 percent the week earlier.

U.S. gold futures for December delivery slipped 0.2 percent to $1,295.30 an ounce.

The euro fell in early Asian trading following Germany's election which revealed growing support for a far-right party that caused Angela Merkel to form a governing coalition. Merkel won a fourth term in office but she will have to govern with a far less stable coalition.

Holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world's biggest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, increased 0.45 percent to 856.08 tonnes on Friday from 852.24 tonnes the previous day.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea's foreign minister that he and leader Kim Jong Un that “he won't be around for much longer”, as Pyongyang staged a major anti-U.S. rally.

A proposal by U.S. Republicans to repeal and replace the Obamacare health insurance program dealt with critical new setbacks within the party, when Senator Ted Cruz voiced his opposition while Senator Susan Collins expressed strong criticism of the legislation.