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By Arundhati Sarkar

Gold retreated on Monday as the dollar climbed, while investors looked for hints on a shift in Federal Reserve monetary policy which has so far kept a leash on bullion prices.

Spot gold fell 0.4% to $1,649.51 per ounce by 1247 GMT. U.S. gold futures eased 0.1% to $1,653.90.

Expectations that some Fed officials were debating a pause in the rapid pace of interest rate hikes helped gold rally on Friday as the U.S. dollar eased.

"Gold remains pretty much at the mercy of monetary policy in the U.S., and will depend largely on how people perceive the rate hike at the meeting next week," said Daniela Hathorn, analyst at Capital.com.

Prices may rally "if investors believe the upcoming 75 basis point hike may be the last one of such magnitude, meaning policy will slowly start to turn," Hathorn added.

While gold is considered an inflation hedge, higher interest rates lift the opportunity cost of holding zero-yield bullion, and have led to a more than 9% fall in bullion so far this year. [USD/]

The Fed is widely expected to raise its benchmark overnight interest rate by 75 basis points at its November meeting.

Until then, investors will keep a close watch on the U.S. economic growth and core inflation prints this week, while the European Central Bank is also widely expected to raise its rates by 75 basis points.

Meanwhile, spot silver fell 0.8% to $19.24 per ounce, while palladium dropped 0.3% to $2,013.25.

Platinum slipped 0.4% to $928.00, after hitting its highest since Aug. 15 earlier in the session.

"The platinum price will likely remain subdued," Heraeus Precious Metals said in a note.

"The risk is that additional refinery closures (in Europe) could see more platinum returned to the market, increasing the surplus and capping potential price upside," it added.

(Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)