Gold futures were little changed during afternoon trade in the domestic market on Monday as investors and speculators build up fresh bets in the precious metal on hopes of further interest rate hikes, with investor attention on more views from the US Fed. 

At the MCX, gold futures for February 2017 contract is trading at Rs 27900 per 10 grams, up by 0.05 %, after opening at Rs 27915, against a previous close of Rs 27887. It touched the intra-day high of Rs 27940. 

                 Trading Ideas

1. Gold trading range for the day is 27740-28056.

2. Gold dropped as the dollar strengthened lifted by U.S. non-farm payrolls data that showed a slowing in hiring last month but an increase in wages.

3. Non-farm payroll data showed that US added 156,000 jobs in December, less than expected, but a rebound in wages pointed to sustained labour market momentum.

4. Gold demand in Asia gathered some steam on wedding season purchases in India, with prices swinging to a premium there for the first time in over a month.