Investing.com - Gold dipped in Asia on Wednesday as Donald Trump gave a strong law-and-order speech to the U.S. Congress that included a crackdown on illegal immigration and repeated call for wall on the border with Mexico, while calling for a vast overhaul of the nation's tax system and increased spending on infrastructure and defense.
The Trump laundry list also included a call for lower drug prices and an unspecified new healthcare coverage plan.
Gold for May delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.51% to $1,247.45 troy ounce. Also on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery dropped 0.58% to $18.362 a troy ounce. Copper futures rose 0.29% to $2.723 a pound.
Investors noted upbeat manufacturing figures from China that set the stage for global growth hopes.
Overnight, gold Futures traded lower on Tuesday, as the dollar moved off session lows, ahead of President Trump’s speech to congress. Despite a mixed batch of U.S. economic data, gold futures struggled for direction in mid-afternoon trade,.
Gross domestic product (GDP) rose at a 1.9% annual rate in the final three months of 2016, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday in its second estimate for the period. Analysts expected a 2.1% annual rate increase.
The Consumer Confidence Index, which measures consumers’ assessment of current conditions in the U.S., hit 114.8 in February, according to data from The Conference Board. Economist expected the Consumer Confidence index to hit 111 in February.
The mixed bag of economic data came amid renewed hopes of a March interest rate hike, after Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan on Monday reiterated his view that a rate hike should come sooner rather than later.
Fed fund futures priced in about a 40% chance of a rate hike in March, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
Gold is sensitive to moves in U.S. interest rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.