Gold prices inched higher in Asian trade on Tuesday, but retained most of their losses this week as anticipation of more cues on U.S. interest rates kept the dollar buoyant.
The greenback had risen sharply on Monday after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatened tariffs against the BRICS group of nations. Political turmoil in France also dented the euro and favored the dollar.
Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,640.77 an ounce, while gold futures expiring in February rose 0.2% to $2,663.66 an ounce by 23:16 ET (04:16 GMT).
Gold under pressure ahead of Powell speech, payrolls data
The yellow metal was pressured by strength in the dollar, as investors remained biased towards the greenback before more cues on U.S. monetary policy this week.
A slew of Fed officials are set to speak in the coming days, most notably Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday. His address comes just weeks before the Fed’s final meeting for the year, where the central bank is widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points.
But uncertainty grew over the long term outlook for rates, especially given recent signs of sticky inflation and resilience in the labor market.
Nonfarm payrolls data for November is due this Friday and is widely expected to factor into the Fed’s outlook on rates. Investors are bracing for a potentially strong reading, as the impact of recent hurricane-related disruptions clears.
The long term outlook for rates was also clouded by uncertainty over the Trump administration. Trump is widely expected to enact expansionary and protectionist policies, which could underpin interest rates and inflation.
Higher rates bode poorly for gold and other precious metals, given that they increase the opportunity cost of investing in non-yielding assets.
Other precious metal were mixed on Tuesday. Platinum futures fell 0.3% to $948.15 an ounce, while silver futures rose 0.6% to $31.058 an ounce.
Copper dips amid persistent China headwinds
Among industrial metals, copper prices retreated on the prospect of more trade and economic headwinds for top importer China. The U.S. imposed stricter controls on the supply of chipmaking technology to China this week.
Benchmark copper futures on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.1% to $8,994.0 a ton, while February copper futures fell 0.3% to $4.1282 a pound.
Copper took some support from positive business activity readings from China, which showed recent stimulus measures from Beijing were bearing some fruit.
But traders were holding out for more cues on China from two key political meetings in December.
Worsening trade relations between the U.S. and China are also expected to potentially dent China’s economy, hurting its appetite for copper.
