• Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose on Wednesday as U.S. equities weakened ahead of a key vote on healthcare in the U.S. congress. The most active gold contract for April delivery rose 3.2 U.S. dollars, or 0.26 percent, to settle at 1,249.70 dollars per ounce.
• Gold has climbed to a three-week high as the US dollar has fallen to seven-week lows and bond yields sink on uncertainty over the economic policies of US President Donald Trump.
• Spot gold was up 0.4 per cent at $US1,249.98 an ounce by 2:43 pm Wednesday EDT (0543 Thursday AEDT), close to the session high of $US1,251.26, the highest since February 28.
• Investors are carefully monitoring the progress of a healthcare bill proposed by the U.S. Republican party and supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, as they are concerned that if this bill fails to pass the lower chamber of congress, it will be a sign that President Trump's economic agenda of tax cuts and infrastructure spending will be much more difficult to achieve than expected.
• Analysts believe that much of the market's gains since the inauguration of the new U.S. president is based on expectations for his economic policies. If these expectations are diminished, investors are likely to move to gold for its safe haven properties as the value of equities will likely be impacted.
• "I think that's giving the market more clarity that it's probably not going to be passed, and they're reacting to that," said Ryan McKay, associate commodities strategist for TD Securities in Toronto.
"This could keep the Fed more measured regarding the pace of rate hikes, which has seen yields, US dollar, and equities fall off while gold rallies."
• A lack of concrete policy from the Trump administration is increasing gold's attraction as a safe-haven investment, analysts and traders said.
• Silver for May delivery dropped 0.5 cents, or 0.03 percent, to close at 17.578 dollars per ounce.
Reference: Xinhua, Business News
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