Cleveland Fed chairman mester: it is very important for the public to understand the Fed's objectives. Uncertainty about the inflation outlook has increased. Inflation is expected to fall, but there are upward risks. The Fed's expectations do not show a sharp rise in interest rates.

Lian en, chief economist of the European Central Bank: there are very good reasons to believe that there is an important temporary component in the rise of inflation. The euro zone is far from the "red zone" of inflation, and the rise of energy prices must be studied.

The dollar index was flat near 94.21, not far from the one-year high of 94.504 hit last week. The overnight volatility reached 10.93%, and the US non-farm employment report will be released on Friday.

Spot gold closed 0.40% lower at US $1755.78 per ounce as the US reported a decline in initial jobless claims last week prior to the release of the monthly employment report on Friday, which boosted US bond yields and triggered bets that the Federal Reserve may soon begin to reduce economic support. COMEX December gold futures fell 0.15% to US $1759.2 / ounce.