ISLAMABAD: The price of 24 karat gold witnessed a decrease of Rs 50 per tola and was sold at Rs 126,100 on Monday against its sale at Rs126,150 in the local market the previous day.

The price of 10 gram 24 karat gold also decreased by Rs 43 to Rs 108,110 from Rs 108,153 whereas that of 10 gram 22 karat decreased to Rs 99,101 from Rs 99,140.

The price of per tola and ten gram silver remained constant at Rs 1460 and Rs 1251.71 respectively.

In international markets Gold prices reversed course to approach a one-week peak on Monday, as renewed risks to global economic growth from rising cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant overshadowed pressure from a firmer U.S. dollar.

Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,809.67 an ounce by 12:34 EDT (1734 GMT), maintaining above the key $1,800 level reached last week. U.S. gold futures gained 0.1% to $1,810.60 per ounce.

The outlook for gold in the first quarter of 2022 is upbeat, with the main driver being inflation, which is keeping a floor under prices, said Jim Wyckoff, a senior analyst at Kitco Metals.

"The underlying support comes from inflation concerns," Wyckoff said, adding "the leanings of the Fed for a little bit tighter monetary policy seems to have assuaged the gold traders a little bit".

Non-yielding bullion is often considered a hedge against higher inflation.

The dollar index rose from its weakest level in nearly a week, making greenback-priced gold less attractive for holders of non-U.S. currencies.

"While there is a firmer U.S. dollar, there isn't a lot of movement in gold today," said Quantitative Commodity Research analyst Peter Fertig, adding that one of the main reasons for the lack of liquidity is closed markets over Christmas.

Slightly higher yields increase the opportunity cost for holding gold, which is weighing a little on gold prices, Fertig added.

Although quiet overall this week, "the low liquidity makes headline sensitivity more pronounced, as the thin markets are likely to make for more jittery price action if something were to happen", said DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak.

Silver rose 0.1% to $22.97 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.2% to $972.50.

Palladium rose 0.4% to $1,955.34 per ounce, it hit its highest since Nov. 22 earlier in the day.