Investing.com - Gold drifted lower in Asia with U.S. fourth quarter GDP on tap later Friday expected to set the tone after holiday-thinned regional trade was quiet.
Gold for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 0.54% to $1,183.40 a troy ounce. Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery eased 0.75% to $16.723 a troy ounce, while copper futures edged up 0.08% to $2.664 a pound. China's Lunar New Year holiday starts on Friday and runs through Thursday of next week, marking a period of sharply reduced economic activity.
In Asia, Japan reported national core CPI rose 0.2% year-on-year in December, below the expected 0.3% pace, while in Australia, figures on PPI showed a 0.5% gain in the fourth quarter, higher than the 0.2% rise seen.
Overnight, gold prices dipped and copper dropped sharply as U.S. investors move away from the precious metal in favor of equities.
Earlier, gold prices sank to a new two-week low in North American morning trade on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar pushed higher and stocks around the world extended their recent rally, dimming the metal’s safe-haven appeal even as concerns grow over President Donald Trump's protectionist stance.
Trump signed executive orders on immigration on Wednesday, including one of border security and the intent to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The president is also planning 'extreme vetting' of visa applications and a temporary ban on virtually all refugee admissions into the U.S. as early as Thursday.
That comes after the president 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.
Meanwhile, a global equities rally continued on Thursday, as investors embraced riskier assets after the Dow topped 20,000 for the first time amid optimism over President Donald Trump’s policies and a solid round of corporate earnings.
Trump signed two executive orders earlier this week 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.
He also signed orders rolling back some regulation and environmental rules in order to expedite approval of infrastructure projects.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.