Gold crawls higher but investors largely unmoved by North Korea test

Gold prices have been largely unaffected by the latest N. Korea missile launch (Shutterstock)

Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday amid a slightly weaker dollar, while North Korea’s latest missile test had little impact on the safe-haven metal. Gold traded in a narrow range despite a raft of economic news out of the United States including progress on tax cuts and Fed chair nominee Jerome Powell’s confirmation hearing.
“Gold has not rallied at all after North Korea’s latest missile test ... It further reinforces that the risk-off safe-haven premiums associated with gold are gone for now,” said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst with OANDA. “This leaves it entirely at the mercy of US yields and the dollar index.”
Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,295.84 an ounce at 0434 GMT. US gold futures were little-changed at $1,295.40. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was down 0.1 percent.
North Korea said on Wednesday it tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could reach all of the US mainland. President Donald Trump said the United States “will take care of” the North Korea issue and that the basic US approach to dealing with Pyongyang will not change.
Geopolitical risks can boost demand for safe-haven assets such as gold, considered a good store of value during volatility in other markets. “(On the North Korea front) Unless things escalate and we ratchet up some tension (market is unlikely to react) ... We expect more deterrents and strong resolve to deal with North Korea from Trump,” said John Sharma, an economist with National Australia Bank.
“Investors are in a wait-and-see mode and happy with the $1,270-$1,300 range. People expect a rate hike in December and are waiting to see the nature of the US tax reforms bill and details fleshed out.”
The US Senate Republicans rammed forward Trump’s tax cut bill on Tuesday in an abrupt, partisan committee vote that set up a full vote by the Senate as soon as Thursday, although some details of the measure remained unsettled.
Meanwhile, US consumer confidence surged to a near 17-year high in November, driven by a robust labor market, while house prices rose sharply in September, which should underpin consumer spending and boost economic growth.
In other metals, palladium dipped 0.5 percent at $1,022.50 an ounce, but stayed close to Tuesday’s peak of $1,028.70, the highest for the metal since February 2001. Silver recovered slightly from previous session’s four-week low and was up 0.3 percent at $16.88 an ounce. Platinum gained 0.2 percent at $950.40 an ounce.