Gold price rebounds on uncertainty around Trump’s policies
London (Nov 15) Gold edged higher on Tuesday, snapping a three-session losing streak, on uncertainty over the effects of policies promised by US president-elect Donald Trump and the expectation of higher interest rates in December.
Spot gold added 0.5% to $1,226.06/oz by 10.08am GMT, having slipped on Monday to its lowest since June 3 at $1,211.08.
US gold futures climbed 0.2% to $1,224.30.
Trump has vowed to boost domestic spending, which has the potential to stoke inflation, but the market is seeking more detail on his policies.
"Gold is taking back some of the negativity that we have seen over the past week. Although investors are becoming more risk-on, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding economic policy in the US," said ETF Securities commodities strategist Martin Arnold.
"There have been lots of statements of US policy, but we don’t have details and we don’t know what it looks like. That’s fertile ground for gold."
Generally, investors pile into safe-haven assets such as gold in times of political and economic uncertainty. Gold has shed nearly 9% from a November 9 high of $1,337.40 after Trump’s election victory, hurt by a stronger US dollar and surging treasury yields.
"[Market] sentiment is being compounded by the very high probability of the US Fed raising interest rates in December," Arnold said.
Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan suggested on Monday that the US central bank is on track to raise rates soon.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding nonyielding assets such as bullion while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced.
Also boosting gold was an almost 5% fall in the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six other leading currencies. The index dropped from 11-month highs to 99.663.
Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.8% at $17.02/oz, having touched its lowest since June 8 at $16.61 in the previous session. Platinum rose 0.9% to $939.75, bouncing back from the more than eight-month low of $917.50 touched on Monday.
Palladium was down 0.9% at $704, having earlier hit its highest since October 4 at $702.50.
Source: BusinessDay
