[ad_1]
Gold futures rose slightly on Monday, held in check by a stronger dollar but finding continued support as wariness over geopolitical events, a looming Federal Reserve meeting and a fresh spate of earnings put pressure on the stock market.
A partial U.S. government shutdown was ended on a temporary basis late last week, although most market participants, and President Donald Trump himself, do not appear to believe the truce between the White House and congressional Democrats will last.
What’s more, Tuesday marks another vote in U.K. parliament on a Brexit deal with the European Union. The current version presented by Prime Minister Theresa May is similar to a previous offering, leaving some analysts guessing that the deal will be rejected again. All told, these factors, combined with the midweek Fed meeting, provide an uncertain climate favorable to haven gold, which is trading more than 1% higher so far this month.
“We believe that the U.S. Fed will not raise interest rates any further on Wednesday because economic concerns have increased,” said Carsten Fritsch, commodities analyst at Commerzbank, in a note. “Though this should have a positive impact on gold, the publication of a robust labor market report in the U.S. could have a dampening effect again on Friday.” Economists polled by MarketWatch expect Friday’s jobs report to show 177,000 jobs added in January after December’s more robust 312,000 new additions to the payrolls.
Higher interest rates tend to support the dollar, proving a drag on dollar-priced gold. What’s more, higher rates can dull the appeal of nonyielding gold and signs the Fed has slowed its approach to tightening historically low monetary policy has lifted gold late last year into early 2019.
Gold for February delivery
GCG9, +0.04%
on Comex was up $1.20, or less than 0.1%, at $1,299.20. March silver
SIH9, -0.18%
was a touch firmer at $15.70 an ounce.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index
DXY, +0.06%
a measure of the currency against six major rivals, was off 0.8%, ticked up 0.1% at 95.83.
U.S. stock futures pointed lower, dragged down in particular by a weaker-than-expected quarterly showing for industrial Caterpillar.
In other metals trade, March palladium
PAH9, -1.10%
fell 0.3% to $1,316 an ounce. April platinum
PLJ9, -0.37%
fell 0.4% to $815.10 an ounce. March copper
HGH9, -1.23%
fell 0.7% to $2.7105 a pound.
Among exchange-traded funds, the SDPR Gold Shares
GLD, +1.46%
was a touch firmer. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF
GDX, +3.32%
rose 0.1%.
Providing critical information for the U.S. trading day. Subscribe to MarketWatch’s free Need to Know newsletter. Sign up here.
[ad_2]
Source link Google News
