BBL BHP Group Plc

By Stephanie Yang and Katherine Dunn 

Gold prices closed at the highest in more than three months on Monday, as investors awaited comments from President Donald Trump this week that could clarify the path of economic policy and fiscal stimulus.

Gold for April delivery edged up 50 cents to $1,258.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, closing out a third straight day of gains. Prices settled at the highest level since Nov. 10, continuing to recoup losses that the precious metal suffered following the presidential election.

Traders will be watching President Trump's speech to Congress on Tuesday for more information on how the administration plans to proceed on key issues such as tax reform and infrastructure spending.

Gold has also benefited from political risks linked to the coming election in France and Britain's efforts to leave the European Union, Commerzbank said in a note. Mixed expectations about whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates next month have also helped support gold, the bank said.

However, demand for gold may falter as other financial markets stay strong, said Carsten Menke, commodities research analyst at Julius Baer.

"While we acknowledge the Trump-related upside risks for gold, we need to take into consideration that his actions did not have a negative impact on the economy and financials markets yet," Mr. Menke said.

Copper prices also ended higher, reversing losses from earlier in the session as traders weighed the impacts of potential supply disruptions.

Futures for May delivery settled up 0.1% at $2.6980 a pound, after trading as low as $2.6675 early Monday.

"[There's] plenty of rhetoric around supply side issues versus China headwinds but in truth nothing has changed since last week...as such we are in 'no-mans land' here," said Matt France, head of institutional sales in Asia at brokerage Marex Spectron, in a Monday note.

Workers striking over pay at Chile's Escondida copper mine, majority-owned by BHP Billiton Ltd., have said they have the funds to remain on strike for over two months, Bloomberg reported. Meanwhile, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. remains locked in a standoff with the Indonesian government over permission to export copper concentrate produced at the Grasberg mine.

The London Metal Exchange's three-month copper contract closed up 0.1% at $5,934.00 a metric ton. Other base metals ended the day mixed.

Aluminum prices rose 0.8% to $1,900 a ton and nickel prices rose 1.7% to $11,045 a ton. Zinc prices fell 0.8% to $2,806 a ton, tin fell 1% to $18,955 a ton and lead fell 0.2% to $2,255 a ton.

Ed Ballard contributed to this article.

Write to Stephanie Yang at stephanie.yang@wsj.com and Katherine Dunn at Katherine.Dunn@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 27, 2017 15:30 ET (20:30 GMT)

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