Benchmark December delivery gold climbed $2.50 to $460.40 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange's Comex division, after moving between $457.20 and $460.60.
The market caught a bounce as some traders repositioned themselves after the heavy fund long liquidation and currency and chart based selling witnessed last week, dealers said.
"It was a little bit of short covering today in the precious metals," said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management. "It was a very thin day, very quiet, with no real news out."
It also was an inside day technically, with the days high and low within the previous session's trading range, which can be a sign that speculative interest is rather subdued.
Estimated turnover just ahead of the close was modest 41,000 contracts.
Short covering lifted gold from onward, but players felt the market could still be at risk of further selling if the dollar extends its recent broad gains.
The dollar marched higher on Monday, hitting an 18-month high against the euro and a two-year high vs. the yen, on expectations the United States interest rate advantage will grow.
A stronger greenback tends to weigh on commodities like gold because the dollar-denominated goods get costlier for market participants holding foreign currencies.
Also denting gold investment was a softer oil price on ideas that warmer Northern Hemisphere temperatures will help curb energy demand, traders said.
Offering support to gold, however, was weekly Commitments of Traders data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showing funds cut their huge long exposure on Comex to a more sustainable level, traders said.
The speculative net long position fell to 130,568 contracts as of last on Tuesday, November 1, from 153,352 lots on October 25. December gold futures shot to an 18-year high at $483.10 an ounce in October, lifted by fears of inflation due to high-energy prices. On Friday, gold had its lowest close since September 14, at $457.90.
Many players feel gold can test the key $500 level before too long but a correction lower may need to occur first.
"Scaled-down buying from the physical sector will slow the metal's progress (lower) but I still think there is potential for gold to dip to $445 in the short term before recovering towards year-end," said James Moore, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com.
Spot gold last fetched $459.10/459.90 an ounce, against on Friday's late quote of $456.20/7.00. Bullion dealers in London fixed the afternoon spot reference price at $456.50.
December silver rose 3.2 cents to $7.605 an ounce, trading from $7.45 to $7.61. Spot was at $7.56/59 an ounce, from $7.52/55 previously. It fixed at $7.485.
Nymex January platinum was unchanged at $934.80 an ounce. Spot platinum last was priced at $928/932.
December palladium climbed $3.65 to $230 an ounce. Spot palladium changed hands $224/228.