Gold futures edged higher on Monday, February 27, trying to notch a third straight session gain with uncertainty ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to Congress on Tuesday.
Prices for the metal logged their highest finish in more than three-and-half months on Friday, and notched a fourth-straight weekly gain.
Gold for April delivery GCJ7, +0.16% edged up by $1.90, or 0.2%, to $1,260.20 an ounce. Last week, the metal gained 1.6%. Silver for March delivery SIH7, +0.36% traded at $18.45 an ounce, up 3.9 cents, or 0.2%, for the session after climbing 1.7% last week to mark a ninth week of advances in a row.
Haven demand has lifted gold to its highest prices since November amid growing concerns about geopolitics, while the Federal Reserve’s lack of commitment to lift benchmark interest rates also helped to support higher prices in the precious metals.
The week’s marquee event is likely to Trump’s Tuesday address to a joint session of Congress, while Fed chief Janet Yellen takes the microphone Friday.
Chintan Karnani, chief market analyst at Insignia Consultants in New Delhi, said that “Trump and the Federal Reserve are on opposite paths.”
“Trump wants lower interest rates and a weaker U.S. dollar,” while the Fed wants to increase interest rates if economic data meet its target and the central bank “is not overtly bothered of the movement in the U.S. dollar,” said Karnani. These “opposite paths can result in more gains for the U.S. dollar.”
But on Monday, the ICE Dollar Index DXY, -0.49% was down 0.2%. A weaker greenback and boost demand for commodities priced in the dollar.
In other metals, copper HGH7, -0.17% for May delivery was down less than half a cent at $2.695 a pound. Platinum PLJ7, +1.48% for April delivery rose $15.30, or 1.5%, to $1,044 an ounce. Palladium PAH7, +1.77% for June delivery rose $15.05, or 2% to $788 an ounce.
As for related ETFs, the exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust GLD, +0.43% and the iShares Silver ETF SLV, +0.46% each climbed by 0.2%, while the VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF GDX, +1.16% rose 0.8%.
