Gold holds near 2-month high as Trump spurs haven demand

Singapore - Gold held near a two-month high as investor nervousness following Donald Trump’s inauguration weakened the dollar and spurred demand for a haven.

Bullion was little changed in London after earlier reaching the highest since November 22, and has advanced in all but two trading sessions so far this year. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell to near the lowest in a month after Trump began his US presidency by saying he’ll focus on American interests, spurring concerns of rising trade protectionism.

Gold investors have focused on two main views since Trump’s election in November: one seeing him as a wild card upending policy on everything from trade to alliances, and the other betting that he’ll boost US growth, equities and the dollar. The administration’s opening days have been marked by protests, disputes about what constitutes a fact and assertions from Trump that he’ll put “America first.”

“The market is now worrying about what would come out from the new administration,” Bob Takai, chief executive officer and president of Sumitomo. Global Research, said by phone from Tokyo. “In this kind of very unforeseeable environment, people want to buy gold,” he said, adding that the biggest factors are the dollar and the outlook for interest rates.

Gold for immediate delivery added 0.2% to $1 212.46 an ounce by 12:06, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal is up 5.7% this month.

The Bloomberg dollar gauge, which tracks the greenback against 10 peers, fell as much as 0.7%. Following Trump’s inaugural address Friday, the administration vowed to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement. Trump may act on trade as early as Monday, Chief of Staff Reince Priebus told “Fox News Sunday.”

Investors have started buying gold through exchange-traded funds again. Holdings rose 0.9 metric ton on Friday to 1 776.7 tons and a fifth daily gain is the longest run since November 3, data compiled by Bloomberg show. After Trump’s win, assets dropped every week through to January 13 as a rally in equities and the dollar curbed demand.

In other precious metals: 

Spot silver rose 0.4% to $17.1602 an ounce. Platinum gained 0.6%. Palladium added 0.2% after earlier touching $797 an ounce, the highest since May 2015.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter: Fin24’s top stories