Gold prices hovered near one-year highs on Monday as worries about the global banking sector and an impending recession returned to the fore.
Spot gold slipped 0.2 percent to $1,984.40 per ounce, after having jumped nearly 1 percent to its highest since March last year earlier in the day. U.S. gold futures were up 0.8 percent at $1,988.40.
Risk aversion gripped financial markets despite global central banks announcing measures to provide dollar liquidity in a bid to stem fallout from panic in the banking sector.
Similarly, concerns mounted about the health of the global financial system despite UBS Group AG, Switzerland's largest banking group, agreeing to buy the crisis-hit Credit Suisse Group AG in a historic, government-brokered deal.
In another development, New York Community Bank NYCB agreed to buy a significant chunk of the failed Signature Bank in a $2.7 billion deal.
The Fed's interest rate decision and forward-looking guidance remain in the spotlight, with analysts expecting a smaller 25-bps rate hike at the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.
