Gold Silver Reports — Gold returned to levels seen before the U.S. election as equities retreated and the dollar vacillated ahead of a major speech next week by President Donald Trump.
The metal headed for a fourth straight weekly gain, the longest run since January, shaking off most of the losses incurred following the surprise election result, as markets continue to unwind the Trump trade. A pause in the stocks rally Friday has buoyed demand for the haven.
Bullion has risen 9.6 percent this year as political uncertainty over Trump’s unorthodoxy, European elections and Brexit ruffle confidence. The U.S. president will deliver his first speech to Congress next week, after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said the impact of fiscal stimulus this year on the economy may be limited.
“We’ve seen uncertainty of policy increased,” Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics LLC in Austin, Texas, said in a telephone interview. Gold “could go a little bit higher in the immediate term.”
Gold for immediate delivery climbed 0.6 percent to $1,257.31 an ounce at 2:19 p.m. in New York, at the lower end of the $1,250 to $1,350 range frequented between the U.K. referendum to leave the European Union in June and the U.S. vote in November. The metal traded just below its 200-day moving average of $1262.12, a point which some traders may see as a bullish signal.
Measured in euros, gold posted the highest close since Sept. 23. Gold futures for April delivery rose 0.6 percent to settle at $1,258.30 an ounce at 1:40 p.m. on the Comex in New York. Prices touched $1,261.20, the highest intraday level since Nov. 11.
“The market is losing a bit of patience in waiting for Trump to deliver on his stimulus promises,” Jens Pedersen, a senior analyst at Danske Bank A/S in Copenhagen, said by phone. “Meanwhile, worries over the elections in France and elsewhere in Europe are also supportive of prices.” — Neal Bhai Reports
Gold Returned to Levels seen Before the U.S. Election | Neal Bhai Reports
U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned economic agenda has fanned the flames for Wall Street’s record-setting run, but some investors worry that his first major address to Congress next week risks dousing it if his plans look slow to execute or are overly vague.
The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX has surged 10 percent since Trump’s Nov. 8 election, with optimism running high over the Republican administration’s domestic proposals, including plans to reform taxes paid by businesses.
But there have been few specifics so far, and some investors believe Trump may need to provide more than just generalities when he gives his first major presidential address on Tuesday.
“If he comes out next week and there are little or no details other than that it is going to be great, that is going to be a time where we could have the first sort of crack in the armor,” said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade in Chicago.