Investing.com - Gold prices edged lower during European morning hours on Tuesday, as markets looked ahead to U.S. President Donald Trump's address to Congress later in the day for further details on his promises of tax reform and infrastructure spending.
Comex gold futures dipped $5.95, or about 0.5%, to $1,252.85 a troy ounce by 3:30AM ET (08:30GMT), pulling away from the prior session's high of $1,264.90, a level not seen since November 10.
Spot gold was steady at $1,252.30 per ounce. The metal hit its highest since November at $1,263.95 on Monday.
President Donald Trump will make his first major address to Congress on Tuesday at 9:00PM ET (02:00GMT Wednesday), with investors hoping he will shed light on his economic agenda, most notably tax reform.
Beyond tax reform, investors will be eager to learn more about Trump's plans for repealing the Affordable Care Act, reducing regulations on businesses and increasing infrastructure spending.
Ahead of his speech in Congress, Trump will appear on Fox News at 6:00AM ET (11:00GMT). Some market commentators believe Trump might preempt his speech by announcing part of his plans.
White House budget officials told reporters Monday that Trump's first budget will call for a $54 billion increase in defense spending and a corresponding cut in what his administration deems lower priority programs.
Besides Trump, markets Tuesday will get plenty of economic data, including a second reading on fourth quarter GDP at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT). There is S&P/Case-Shiller home price data at 9AM ET and Chicago PMI at 9:45AM ET. At 10AM ET, consumer confidence is released.
A recent string of solid data reinforced the view that the U.S. economy is sufficiently robust to warrant higher interest rates in the months ahead.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan, who is a voting member on the central bank's rate-setting committee this year, on Monday repeated his view that it would be prudent for the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates sooner rather than later.
Investors raised their outlook on a faster pace of U.S. rate increases following his comments.
Fed fund futures priced in about a 30% chance of a rate hike in March, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool. Odds of a May increase was seen at 53%, while June odds were at around 73%.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 101.10 in London morning trade.
Treasury yields were little changed, with the U.S. 10-Year bond at around 2.358%.
Also on the Comex, silver futures for May delivery dipped 7.4 cents, or 0.4%, to $18.34 a troy ounce after reaching $18.54 earlier, the highest since November 11.
Meanwhile, platinum was down 0.7% to $1,031.65, while palladium was firm at $786.20 an ounce.
Elsewhere in metals trading, copper futures lost 1.2 cents, or about 0.5%, to $2.686 a pound.