Should you buy or sell gold in Dubai?

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Should you buy or sell gold in Dubai?

Read how gold prices have been affected by Trump's presidency

By Reuters

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Published: Sat 21 Jan 2017, 9:00 AM

Last updated: Sat 21 Jan 2017, 4:44 PM

Gold prices turned up on Friday, as the dollar fell and US Treasury yields came off their highs after Donald Trump was sworn in as U.S. president. Trump pledged to end the "American carnage" of social and economic woes in an inaugural address that was a populist and nationalist rallying cry, prompting investor concern about protectionist trade policies.
"I think some of the populist issue themes that he's touched on are supportive of gold," said James Steel, chief metals analyst for HSBC Securities in New York. Spot gold was up 0.5 percent at $1,211.30 an ounce by 3:04 p.m. EST (2004 GMT), while U.S. gold futures settled up 0.3 percent at $1,204.90 per ounce.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell 0.4 percent after trading higher earlier in the session. A weaker dollar makes the metal cheaper for holders of other currencies. Gold shrugged off better-than-expected U.S. jobs, housing and factory data that reinforced the view that the U.S. economy is sufficiently robust to warrant interest rate rises.
Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker said on Friday he expected three interest rate increases in 2017 if the labor market improves further and inflation moves to the Federal Reserve's 2 percent goal. 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. "Gold has dropped back from quite a significant technical level around $1,220, a critical retracement of last year's high to low move. I would say from here the risks are skewed to the downside in the short term," Mitsubishi's Butler said.


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