Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Gold Prices Drift Lower at Start of Holiday-Shortened Week

Published 11/20/2017, 02:50 AM
Updated 11/20/2017, 02:50 AM
© Reuters.  Gold starts the week with small losses

© Reuters. Gold starts the week with small losses

Investing.com - Gold prices drifted lower at the start of a holiday-shortened week on Monday, as investors kept an eye on U.S. tax reform developments.

Comex gold futures shed $5.00, or about 0.4%, to $1,291.51 a troy ounce by 2:50AM ET (0750GMT). It jumped 1.4% to reach its best level since Oct. 16 at $1,297.50 in the last session.

The yellow metal booked a weekly gain of about 1.8% last week, marking its second-straight weekly rise, as investors remained skeptical over whether Republicans can pass a historic tax overhaul.

The House of Representatives passed a bill last Thursday that would lower corporate taxes and cut individual taxes for most households in 2018, in a step towards the biggest U.S. tax code overhaul since the 1980s.

But the legislation may face a tougher fight in the Senate amid resistance within Republican ranks. Senate lawmakers are expected to vote on their version of the bill after this week’s Thanksgiving holiday.

Besides U.S. tax reform developments, global financial markets will focus on minutes of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting in the week ahead, as they look for fresh clues on the likely trajectory of monetary policy.

In addition to the minutes, markets will also be watching Fed Chair Janet Yellen, when she speaks in New York on Tuesday evening.

Staying in the U.S., a report on durable goods orders will be the highlight of the holiday-shortened week. Markets stateside will remain closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Few expect this week's data to halt the third Fed rate hike of the year next month. The U.S. central bank is scheduled to hold its final policy meeting of the year on Dec. 12-13, with interest rate futures pricing in a 100% chance of a rate hike at that meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool. For 2018, the Fed is currently forecasting three interest rate hikes, but the markets expect two at most.

Gold is highly sensitive to rising rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced.

In other metals trading, silver futures slumped 20.7 cents, or 1.2%, to $17.16 a troy ounce, platinum fell 0.9% to $945.70, while palladium inched up 0.2% at $994.40 an ounce.

Meanwhile, copper futures slipped 1.2 cents, or 0.4%, to stay close to a six-week low of $3.055 a pound amid concerns over a slowdown in China's economy. The Asian nation the world's top user of the red metal.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.