Investing.com - Gold prices fell in Asia on Monday as the dollar showed strong gains after Japan's Premier Shinzo Abe resoundingly won re-election, signalling continued easy policy.
Gold futures for December delivery fell 0.24% to $1,277.39 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overnight, gold prices fell on Friday, pressured lower by the stronger U.S. dollar which was boosted after President Donald Trump's plans to overhaul the tax code cleared a critical hurdle.
The dollar rose on Friday, making gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, after Senate Republicans approved a budget measure that will allow them to pursue tax cuts without support from the Democratic Party.
The index ended the week up 0.69%, its fifth weekly increase in six weeks. Investors expect a fiscal boost to push up inflation, adding pressure on the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, known as the "Trumpflation" trade.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, while boosting the dollar, in which it is priced.
But Republicans have yet to produce a tax reform bill amid divisions over what cuts to make and how to pay for them and analysts have warned that the White House still faces a long battle to push through its agenda.
Elsewhere in precious metals trading, silver was down 1.21% at $17.04 a troy ounce late Friday, bringing its weekly decline to 2.22%, while platinum settled at $926.00.
Among base metals, copper pared early gains and closed at $3.169 a pound. The industrial metal was still up 1.03% for the week after Monday’s rally to three-year highs on the back of upbeat Chinese economic data.
The country accounts for almost half the world’s copper consumption.
In the week ahead, investors will be watching the European Central Bank meeting for further details on plans to scale back its massive stimulus program.
Markets will keep an eye on a preliminary reading of third-quarter U.S. growth to further assess the impact of recent hurricanes on economic activity and how it could affect the Federal Reserve’s view on monetary policy.