Gold eases after rising 2pc; dollar helps 

Singapore, Reuters - Gold edged down on Monday after rising nearly two per cent in the previous session to above  $1,400 an ounce, but a struggling US dollar that pushed  silver to its highest since early 1980 could still spur  buying from investors.

Any signs of a weaker US economy or heightened tensions  between the two Koreas could also bolster gold.

South Korea started a nation-wide live-fire naval exercise  on Monday, despite Pyongyang’s warnings against conducting the  drills in disputed waters off the west coast of the peninsula.

‘Looking at the relatively strong rise in gold following  the numbers on Friday, the market seems to be taking a bit of  a breather,’ said Darren Heathcote, head of trading at  Investec Australia in Sydney. ‘We might well drift through for a short time.’

Spot gold fell $2.36 an ounce to $1,411.99 by 0253  GMT, after rising as high as $1,415.36 on Friday as the dollar  tumbled following disappointing jobs data in November.