WASHINGTON: Gold prices fell on Wednesday in the U.S. as investors race into shares and get set for expected rate hikes by the Fed this year and potential tax cuts and higher spending under the administration led by President Donald Trump. Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.93% to $1,199.60 a troy ounce as U.S. share indexes reached record levels and the dollar weakened on concerns that Trump’s trade policies and embattled political style will hurt the greenback.
Still, investors are also turning more optimistic as Trump begins to offer more details of his policies such as signing two executive orders on Tuesday to move forward with construction of the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, rolling back key Obama administration environmental actions in favor of expanding energy infrastructure. But concerns over his protectionist stance remain after Trump signed to formally withdraw the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal and vowed to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with leaders of Canada and Mexico. Additionally, a tweet by Trump Tuesday night signaled that he would sign an executive order on Wednesday to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.Market players will continue to focus on Trump for further details on his promises of tax reform, infrastructure spending and deregulation, as well as insight regarding policies on China and the domestic economy. Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures rose 0.20% to $2.714 a pound.
