Gold holds near 3-1/2 month high, Trump speech on the radar

By Pratima Desai

(Reuters) - Gold held steady near 3-1/2 month highs on Monday as investors waited for U.S. President Donald Trump to outline plans for tax cuts, infrastructure spending, levies on imports and foreign policy.

Spot gold was little changed at $1,256.18 and ounce at 1059 GMT, having touched its highest since Nov. 11 at $1,260.10 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures were down 0.1 percent at $1,257.

Trump is due to address Congress on Tuesday.

"What he reveals might be important for gold. For example, if he announces significant fiscal easing, that would raise inflation expectations and lead investors into gold," said Danske Bank analyst Jens Pederson.

"But the border adjustment tax (import tax) could push the dollar higher and that could be negative for gold ... The whole area of foreign policy may mean more political uncertainty and that's positive for gold."

Analysts also expect nervousness ahead of elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany to help to buoy gold prices over the course of this year but say that U.S. interest rates are also important.

Higher U.S. rates could mean a stronger U.S. currency, which makes dollar-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

"Most of the market still expects the U.S. Federal Reserve to pass on raising rates for now. We would agree with this consensus view," said INTL FCStone analyst Edward Meir. "This could offer gold more upside, at least going into March."

The U.S. central bank meets March 14-15, though rate increases are largely expected to be postponed until the June meeting.

Bets on higher prices can be seen in data from the CFTC, showing hedge funds and money managers holding larger net long positions in COMEX gold, reaching the highest in nearly three months during the week to Feb. 21.

Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, New York's SPDR Gold Trust, have also risen more than 5 percent this month.

However, attempts to push prices higher have met strong resistance in recent days at $1,260, near the 200-day moving average, traders said.

Spot silver was flat at $18.35 an ounce.

Platinum slipped 0.2 percent to $1,021.50, having earlier marked its strongest in nearly five months at $1,030.20.

Palladium rose 0.4 percent to $771.65.

Societe Generale sees robust demand for palladium auto catalysts from Chinese car manufacturers.

"The average palladium loading on a Chinese gasoline car is set to grow again next year, as Chinese standards for light duty gasoline vehicles are implemented nationally starting in January 2017," said Societe Generale analyst Robin Bhar.

"The demand outlook remains less compelling for platinum due to its exposure to diesel technology, which remains under scrutiny from the emissions scandal."

(Additional reporting by Nallur Sethuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman)