Investing.com - Gold prices edged higher in Asia on Tuesday with two big speeches later in the day--British PM Theresa May on Brexit and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Davos on the global economic outlook setting the scene for the inaugural address by President-elect Donald Trump at the end of the week.
Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.78% to $1,205.55 a troy ounce, while silver futures for March delivery gained 0.58% to $16.862 a troy ounce. Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures dropped 0.60% to $2.643 a pound.
Overnight, gold prices rose toward an eight-week high on Monday, as investors await more detail on the U.K.'s Brexit plan and the inauguration of Trump in the U.S. later this week.
Worries about the terms of Britain's departure from the European Union intensified following media reports that suggested May's government was prepared to make a "clean and hard" exit from the single currency region, ahead of her speech on Tuesday.
May has previously stated she will trigger Article 50, which starts the formal withdrawal process from the European Union, by the end of March, but so far has given few details about what deal she will be seeking.
Meanwhile, global financial markets will continue to focus on Trump as he takes the Oath of Office and offers his inaugural address on Friday.
Investors will welcome any detail he may give on his promises of tax reform, infrastructure spending and deregulation, as well as insight regarding policies on China and the domestic economy.
President-elect Trump has been credited with being a major catalyst behind the market's impressive rally since election day, although he has yet to outline his economic policies in detail.
Markets were disappointed last week after Trump failed to offer details on his promises to boost fiscal spending and cut taxes at a highly-anticipated news conference on Wednesday.
The precious metal has been well-supported in recent sessions amid uncertainty surrounding the Federal Reserve’s pace of interest rate hikes this year.
The Fed had indicated in December that at least three rate increases were in the offing for 2017, according to a forecast of interest rates from members of the central bank, known as the dot-plot.