Gold rises

BENGALURU. — Gold prices rose yesterday to the highest in two months as investors sought safer assets amid uncertainty around the economic policies of new US President Donald Trump and as the dollar declined against other major currencies.

Spot gold rose 0,7 percent, to $1 217,81 per ounce by 3.03am GMT. It earlier touched a high of $1 219,43, the most since November 22. US gold futures were up 1,1 percent, to $1 218,

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell for a second day by 0.4% to 100.310.

Donald Trump, who took power as the 45th president of the US on Friday, pledged to end the “American carnage” of social and economic woes in an inaugural address that was a populist and nationalist rallying cry, prompting investor concern about protectionist trade policies.

With the lack of a clear policy direction from Trump, the market movement was a sign that risk aversion was back on the table, OCBC analyst Barnabas Gan said.

Data from US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Friday underscored investor’s bullish gold views. The CFTC reported that speculators raised their net long positions during the week to January 17 in Comex gold contracts for the second consecutive week.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch said last week that precious metal funds had their biggest inflow in five months, according to data through to last Wednesday. Bond funds also notched a fourth consecutive gain over the last week, as investors continued to hedge against the so-called “Trump trades” put on late last year that bet on stronger growth and rising inflation. —