Gold demand in Singapore in 1993 was at 21.4 tonnes and in Malaysia it stood at 22.4 tonnes. Six years after Singapore implemented the GST in in 1994,and Singapore only recorded 12.1 tonnes while Malaysia raked up 21.1 tonnes - Reuters Photo.
BENGALURU: Gold rose to a 7-week high on Thursday on a weaker dollar after US President-elect Donald Trump provided little clarity on future fiscal policies at a press briefing.
Spot gold was up 0.5% at US$1,196.06 per ounce, after touching a high of US$1,198.58, its best since Nov 23.
US gold futures rose 0.1% to US$1,197.80 per ounce.
In his first press briefing as US president-elect, Trump presided over a wide-ranging session that lasted longer than expected but contained no details on tax cuts and infrastructure spending, analysts said.
?Politics appears to have captured the gold market's attention and is playing a role in directing near-term prices," HSBC analyst James Steel said in a note.
?Gold will remain finely tuned to political comments and developments from Trump and his team... if the economic nationalists, who want to impose tariffs and increase infrastructure spending, have greater influence, we believe gold will likely trade higher."
The US$1,200 level will offer stiff resistance and gold may not be able to break it easily, Steel added.
Trump's campaign calls for tax cuts and more infrastructure spending have boosted US shares and the dollar, as well as driving a selloff in Treasuries, but his protectionist statements and a flurry of off-the-cuff Tweets have kept many investors from adding to risky positions.
?There is some kind of uncertainty in Trump's policies and the dollar's upside is also being questioned by the markets," Argonaut Securities analyst Helen Lau said.
?We need more positive developments in US economic fundamentals before the dollar can go higher," Lau said, adding that markets were disappointed in Trump's speech.
The dollar index, which tracks the US currency against a basket of six major counterparts, was down 0.3% at 101.470, having hit a one-week high on Wednesday.
?The dollar will roll back a good proportion of its gains over the course of the month in January and gold should benefit as a result if Trump team hits the ground running and continues to give more impressions of disarray than what has been apparent so far," INTLFC Stone analyst Edward Meir said in a note.
The outlook for US rates may become a little clearer when Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen appears at a webcast town hall meeting with educators on Thursday.
A host of Federal Reserve presidents including Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas and St Louis will also speak on a range of issues.
Spot silver rose 0.5% to US$16.81 an ounce.
Platinum was up 0.7% to US$979, after touching a high of US$986.10, its best since Nov 10.
Palladium was slightly firmer at US$754.50. - Reuters
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