Beijing, China (BBN) - Gold rose in Asia on Monday as investors noted a sharp reaction to President Donald Trump's move to bar travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the US with markets in China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore shut to mark the Lunar New Year.
Gold Futures for April delivery rose 0.53 per cent to $1.196.15 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copper was last quoted at $2.694, reports Investing.com.
In the euro zone, Germany is to release preliminary data on inflation.
The US is to release figures on personal income and spending as well as a report on pending home sales.
The seven countries cited in his executive order—Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somali, Sudan, Syria and Yemen—as being part of a restrictive travel regime already in place under former president Barack Obama.
But Trump's order sparked protests at airports over what was seen as targeting a religion for exclusion and by corporate leaders, including strong statements from Silicon Valley companies that have pledged support for the American Civil Liberties Union, which has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the order, with some executives joining protesters at airports in San Francisco and New York.
Last week, gold ended little changed on Friday, after weaker-than-expected figures on US fourth quarter growth dampened expectations for a faster rate of interest rate hikes this year.
The annual rate of economic growth slowed to 1.9 per cent in the three months to December the Commerce Department reported Friday, slowing sharply from the 3.5 per cent rate of growth seen in the third quarter.
The economy grew just 1.6 per cent in 2016 as a whole, the slowest rate of growth since 2011.
The slowdown in growth prompted speculation that the Federal Reserve will avoid hiking interest rates too quickly.
Investors also remained cautious as they pondered the economic implications of Trump's pledges of increased fiscal spending, tax cuts and protectionism.
BBN/SK/AD