Investing.com — Gold prices rose slightly in Asian trading on Thursday, near record highs even as a stronger dollar due to speculation over President Trump's second term in office weighed on overall metals markets. was maintained.
Among industrial metals, copper prices recorded another decline as the Chinese government's explanation on supporting the real estate market was unimpressive.
Lower US Treasury yields and interest rate expectations from major central banks supported gold prices. The European Central Bank is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) later in the day.
By 00:23 ET (04:23 GMT), it was up 0.2% at $2,678.90 an ounce, and by December deadline it was up 0.1% at $2,694.40 an ounce.
Gold approaches record highs as yields fall, attracting attention to interest rate cuts
Spot prices are just shy of Wednesday's all-time high of $2,685.96 an ounce.
Bullion prices fell 0.5% on Wednesday, supported by lower U.S. Treasury yields and amid growing expectations that Donald Trump will win a second term.
Mr. Trump was seen as leading Vice President Kamala Harris in the online betting market, but recent media polls showed Ms. Harris with a slight lead. But with about three weeks left until the vote, markets are bracing for a close race.
President Trump's policies are expected to be inflationary, a belief that has weighed on U.S. Treasury yields, pushing them to their highest levels since early August.
The market was also waiting for further interest rate cuts by major central banks. The European Central Bank is widely expected to conclude its meeting late Thursday.
Prices for other precious metals were mixed. It rose 0.5% to $1,012.40 an ounce, while it fell 0.7% to $31.760 an ounce.
China's real estate market is overwhelmed and copper prices fall
The benchmark price on the London Metal Exchange fell 0.6% to $9,548.50 a tonne, while December fell 0.6% to $4.3445 a tonne.
Both deals extended recent losses after China's latest explanation of its economic support plans was also largely disappointing. China's housing minister on Thursday outlined further measures to support the property market, including expanding the whitelist of developers eligible for government funding.
However, investors hoping for more enhancements were disappointed by the lack of new features and poor details about their implementation.
Thursday's briefing was the latest in a series of stimulus talks from China as the Chinese government mobilizes more economic support. However, past press conferences also disappointed expectations.
This has caused copper companies to suffer heavy losses over the past week amid doubts about the world's largest copper importer. China's third quarter statistics are expected to be released on Friday.
