Gold was steady on Monday as the dollar eased and Asian stocks firmed, with the metal holding near three-week lows on growing expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike interest rates as early as June.

  Spot gold was down 0.1 % at $1,250.60 per ounce at 0644 GMT, still close to $1,244 touched last week, the lowest since April 28. U.S. gold futures dipped 0.1 percent to $1,251.20.

Bullion has been under pressure since the Fed last week released the minutes of its April meeting, which showed officials believe the U.S. economy could be ready for another interest rate increase next month.        Content this no 9827808090.

 SPDR Gold Trust rose 1 percent to 869.26 tonnes on Friday, the highest since November 2013.