profitaddaweb.com-Gold prices edged higher in Asia on Monday as investors awaited a lineup of Fed speakers this week and the incoming president to set the tone and markets in Japan shout for a holiday.
Gold for February delivery edged up 0.21% to $1,175.85 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper futures was up 0.08% to $2.544 a pound.
In the week ahead, investors will be looking ahead to U.S. economic reports, particularly Friday’s retail sales figures for December. Investors will also be watching an appearance by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Thursday and speeches by a handful of other Fed officials during the week, as well as President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday for a press conference.
Last week, gold prices fell on Friday, retreating from the previous sessions one-month highs as the dollar strengthened against a currency basket after U.S. jobs data showed a slowdown in hiring in December but a pickup in wage growth.
The Labor Department said Friday the U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in December, falling short of economists forecast for jobs growth of 178,000. The report also showed that the annual rate of wage growth rose to 2.9% in December from a year earlier, the strongest since 2009. The employment data indicated that the economy is improving enough for the Federal Reserve to keep pushing up interest rates.
The Fed has indicated that three quarter-percentage-point interest rate increases are on the cards for 2017.
Higher rates boost the dollar by making the currency more attractive to yield-seeking investors.
