Gold headed for the highest close since November and base metals sank after President Donald Trump\u2019s failure to pass signature reform of health care legislation raised questions about his administration\u2019s ability to deliver on other promises including infrastructure, buoying demand for havens.<\/p>\n
Bullion for immediate delivery climbed as much as 1.3 percent to $1,259.28 an ounce, and traded at $1,258.32 at 8:23 a.m. in London,\u00a0heading for the highest finish since Nov. 10, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The advance followed two weeks of gains. On the London Metal Exchange, all metals dropped as copper lost as much as 1.5 percent.<\/p>\n
Investors on Monday further unwound trades initiated in November resting on the idea that the election of Trump and a Republican Congress meant smooth passage of an agenda featuring tax cuts and regulatory changes that would benefit industrial commodities and hurt gold. With the health-care deal falling through, markets are reassessing Trump\u2019s ability to deliver, according to Bryan Lum, a strategist at Phillip Futures Pte in Singapore.<\/p>\n
The defeat of Trump\u2019s bill to repeal and replace his predecessor\u2019s health-care law has \u201cput a bit of a threat under the market in terms of all his other programs,\u201d David Lennox, an analyst at\u00a0Fat Prophets in Sydney, said by phone. \u201cMarkets are fretting\u201d over the impact on base metals demand if plans for a spending boost on infrastructure are hampered, he said.<\/p>\n
Three-month copper dropped as much as $84 to $5,720 a metric on the LME, and traded at $5,729.50, with losses also being driven by prospects for the resumption of output from BHP Billiton Ltd.\u2019s Escondida mine in Chile after a strike. Zinc fell as much as 2 percent, while nickel sank 2.2 percent.<\/p>\n
The moves in metals came as the dollar retreated to lose nearly all its gains seen since Trump\u2019s election victory in November. Typically, a weaker greenback would aid gold as well as base metals.<\/p>\n
Source: Bloomberg<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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