Gold stable as US dollar slumps ahead of Trump's inauguration

Gold bars 

Gold prices held steady today, Jan. 20, as the US dollar tumbled ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration as US President for the second time.

February gold futures remained flat at $2,748.80 per ounce at 10:22 am Makkah time. Meanwhile, spot prices inched up 0.14% to $2,705.25 an ounce.

Elsewhere, March silver futures rose 0.30% to $31.23 an ounce, in tandem with a 0.23% drop in platinum spot prices to $942.23 per ounce.

Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as US President today. Investors are closely monitoring any new cues about his economic policies and their potential impact on US inflation, which in turn influences the Federal Reserve's monetary policy decisions.

Hours prior to the inauguration, the US dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, plunged by 0.29% to 109 points.

“If we happened to hear a more conciliatory or softer tone from President Trump regarding trade and tariff polices, this could alleviate inflationary concerns, which may see the US dollar and Treasury yields recede, and gold is potentially one asset which could benefit from this scenario,” Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, told Reuters.