Gold prices had been struggling and trading roughly $3.00 lower this morning. However prices firmed immediately following the release of the Fed minutes from the most recent FOMC meeting. Spot gold is now trading up, with a net gain of approximately two dollars at $1237.57 per ounce (3:30 EST).

Gold prices hold steady, trimming losses from the strong sell-off that occurred in trading overseas last night and currently trading, in essence, unchanged. As of 3 o’clock Eastern Standard Time, spot gold is trading at $1236 - $1237, off about one dollar on the day.

Exactly four weeks ago, to the day, Donald Trump took the oath of office and was sworn in as the 45^th president of the United States. HIs election victory will go down in the history books as one of the most unlikely outcomes of any presidential election.

For the second consecutive day, gold prices have moved moderately higher, trading to an intraday high of $1243.70, this basis the April futures contract. If gold prices hold onto their weekly gains through tomorrow, Friday will mark the third consecutive week of gold moving to higher pricing.

Fueled by multiple factors, including statements made by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen and President Donald Trump, today traders witnessed multiple markets moving to higher ground. Most interesting is the fact that these markets typically do not run in tandem. By nature, these asset classes (risk on and risk off) have an intrinsic negative correlation.

As a signal of intent, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said, “Every meeting is live,” in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee today. She acknowledged that during any of the upcoming FOMC meetings this year, there is a possibility of an interest rate increase by the central bank. Based on her statements, we could see in interest rate hike as early as March.

Although gold continues to trade under pressure as we go into the close of Monday’s trading session, prices have recovered from this morning’s lows. Gold prices sold off sharply today, with spot gold prices trading to an intraday low of $1219.49. As of 4:00 Eastern Standard Time, gold is trading at $1226.20, off $6.70 on the day.

Love him or hate him, the undeniable fact is that President Donald Trump has quickly begun to sanction policies in order to actualize his vision of America’s future. True to his word, Trump is acting quickly on campaign promises and converting them into policies. In his first three weeks as president, Trump has signed a total of 22 executive orders and memorandums.

Today gold traded under moderate pressure, and as of 5:00 Eastern Standard Time, is trading approximately $10 lower (spot gold) at $1231, with April futures trading roughly 6 ½ dollars lower at $1233 per ounce.  This ended the daily advance in gold, which had prices increasing over the last five consecutive days.

For the fifth consecutive day, gold prices have traded to higher pricing. But the real story is that gold has been gaining ground, now adding over $100 since trading to a low of 1125 per ounce in December of last year. The last time gold prices were this high was on November 11, just following the post-election selloff, which took gold prices over $200 lower.