Gold steady ahead of Trump's policy speech

Reuters 

(Reuters) - Gold held steady on Tuesday, after falling from 3-1/2-month highs in the previous session, as investors awaited a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump later in the day for more clarity on his economic policy.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was little changed at $1,252.15 per ounce at 0044 GMT. The metal hit its highest since Nov. 11 at $1,263.80 in the previous session.

* U.S. gold futures fell 0.5 percent to $1,252.70.

* Investors are looking towards U.S. President Donald Trump's policy speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night where he is expected to provide clues on his plans to cut taxes.

* President Donald Trump on Monday said he would propose a budget that would ramp up spending on defence, but seek savings elsewhere to pay for it.

* The U.S. Federal Reserve might need to raise interest rates in the near future to avoid falling behind the curve on inflation, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said on Monday.

* Prices of U.S. short-term interest rate futures fell on Monday as traders raised their expectations the Federal Reserve will increase rates either in March or May.

* New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in January after three straight months of strong gains, but did little to change views that manufacturing was recovering from a prolonged downturn amid rising commodity prices.

* Societe Generale sees robust demand for palladium auto catalysts from Chinese car manufacturers.

* The demand outlook remains less compelling for platinum due to its exposure to diesel technology, which remains under scrutiny from the emissions scandal, SocGen said.

* Newmont Mining Corp is keen to buy the 50 percent of the Kalgoorlie gold mine in Western Australia it does not already own should a deal to sell the stake to another buyer fall through, Chief Executive Gary Goldberg said on Monday.

* China's monthly net gold imports via main conduit Hong Kong plunged 38.3 percent in January, data showed on Monday.

* Russia is expected to increase its gold production to up to 305 tonnes in 2017 from 297 tonnes last year, the country's Gold Industrialists' Union said in a statement on Monday.

(Reporting By Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Gold steady ahead of Trump's policy speech

(Reuters) - Gold held steady on Tuesday, after falling from 3-1/2-month highs in the previous session, as investors awaited a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump later in the day for more clarity on his economic policy.

(Reuters) - Gold held steady on Tuesday, after falling from 3-1/2-month highs in the previous session, as investors awaited a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump later in the day for more clarity on his economic policy.

FUNDAMENTALS

* Spot gold was little changed at $1,252.15 per ounce at 0044 GMT. The metal hit its highest since Nov. 11 at $1,263.80 in the previous session.

* U.S. gold futures fell 0.5 percent to $1,252.70.

* Investors are looking towards U.S. President Donald Trump's policy speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night where he is expected to provide clues on his plans to cut taxes.

* President Donald Trump on Monday said he would propose a budget that would ramp up spending on defence, but seek savings elsewhere to pay for it.

* The U.S. Federal Reserve might need to raise interest rates in the near future to avoid falling behind the curve on inflation, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said on Monday.

* Prices of U.S. short-term interest rate futures fell on Monday as traders raised their expectations the Federal Reserve will increase rates either in March or May.

* New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods unexpectedly fell in January after three straight months of strong gains, but did little to change views that manufacturing was recovering from a prolonged downturn amid rising commodity prices.

* Societe Generale sees robust demand for palladium auto catalysts from Chinese car manufacturers.

* The demand outlook remains less compelling for platinum due to its exposure to diesel technology, which remains under scrutiny from the emissions scandal, SocGen said.

* Newmont Mining Corp is keen to buy the 50 percent of the Kalgoorlie gold mine in Western Australia it does not already own should a deal to sell the stake to another buyer fall through, Chief Executive Gary Goldberg said on Monday.

* China's monthly net gold imports via main conduit Hong Kong plunged 38.3 percent in January, data showed on Monday.

* Russia is expected to increase its gold production to up to 305 tonnes in 2017 from 297 tonnes last year, the country's Gold Industrialists' Union said in a statement on Monday.

(Reporting By Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

 image
Business Standard
177 22