Investing.com - Gold prices rose in Asia on Wednesday as President Donald Trump urged bipartisan cooperation on overhauling US immigration policies and rebuilding infrastructure in an address to Congress on Tuesday night.
"So tonight I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, to protect our citizens, of every background, color, and creed," Trump said in prepared remarks.
Ahead of Trump's speech, Republicans and Democrats were deeply divided over immigration, which has been linked to congressional efforts to pass a spending bill. Lawmakers face a Feb. 8 deadline to reach a compromise on the issue and pass a new budget measure to avoid a second government shutdown after a brief closure earlier this month.
Gold futures for February delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 0.10% to $1,336.80 a troy ounce.
Australia reported consumer price inflation for the fourth quarter rose 0.6%, compared with a 0.7% gain on quarter seen and at a 1.9% pace on year compared to a 2.0% gain expected. As well, private sector credit for December rose 0.3%, lower than the expected 0.5% gain.
China reported its official manufacturing PMI at 51.3, missing a 51.5 level expected for January, a dip down from 51.6 in December. The non-manufacturing PMI rose to 55.3, compared to a steady 55.0 seen. The private Caixin/Markit manufacturing PMI is due on Thursday with a 51.3 level seen in January, a slight fall from 51.5 in December.
Earlier, Japan reported December provisional industrial production rose 2.7%, beating a 1.5% rise expected.
Gold prices fell on Tuesday amid rising bond yields as investors continued to bet that strong economic growth and an improved inflationary environment could encourage the Federal Reserve to adopt a faster path to monetary tightening.
Investors await the Federal Reserve to reveal its decision on monetary policy and insights into the pace of US economic growth and inflation, rising US bond yields continued to pressure gold prices, as the precious metal remained on track to post its first two-day loss in three weeks.
Gold is sensitive to rising U.S. rates, which lift the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion.
Upbeat consumer confidence, meanwhile, added to the narrative of an improving economy after rebounding from a decline in December.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence gauge rose to 125.4 in January from 122.1 in December, beating economists’ forecast for a reading of 123.1.