ID Seminar Gold Prices See Little Reaction As House Passes Tax Bill

ID Kitco News Gold prices are seeing little reaction to the U.S. House of Representatives passing historic tax-cuts and reform legislation.

After months of negotiations and uncertainty, Congress is one step closer to approving its first major piece of legislation for the year, which also marks the first time the tax system has gone through a fundamental overhaul in decades.

The Senate still has to vote on the tax bill later this evening. Political pundits are expecting the bill to pass even as the Republican-controlled Senate has a slim majority.

Gold prices are seeing little movement to the headlines on Capitol Hill as it was widely expected to pass into law. December gold futures last traded at $1,264 an ounce, down 0.12% on the day.

While the legislation was widely expected to pass, analysts say that the U.S. dollar, which has struggled to gain momentum, could push higher in the end of the week, which would weigh on gold.

Bill Baruch, president of Blue Line Futures, said in a report released ahead of the vote that he is expecting to see a stronger U.S. dollar as the bill moves to President Donald Trump�s desk to be signed into law.

However, he added, that "This will give gold bulls who missed the buy last week a second chance."

Jonathan Butler, precious metals strategist at Mitsubishi also said in a report released ahead of the vote that while the legislation is negative for precious metals, reaction could be limited.

�Equity markets have largely bought the rumor of this, and the major stock indices have reached a succession of all-time highs this year, nonetheless another surge is possible as investors price in a substantial boost to corporate earnings next year," he said.