In pre-holiday trading, gold prices continue to hold steady while inching closer and closer to $1300 per ounce. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, statements made yesterday by President Trump put dramatic pressure on the U.S. dollar.

As market participants react to continued geopolitical concerns in both the Middle East and northern Asia, safe haven demand continues to bid up gold pricing. Trading to highs not seen since November of last year, gold futures are currently up approximately $10 on the day and are trading to an intraday high of 1285.

In response to geopolitical tension on two fronts, gold is trading dramatically higher today. As of 3 o’clock Eastern Standard Time, gold futures (June contract) are trading $22 higher at 1276. This comes in response to statements made by the North Korean media, which have contributed to raising US-North Korea tensions.

Given recent events in Syria, as well as genuine concern over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, gold is reacting in a rather subdued and lackluster manner. Although trading well off today’s lows as of 4 o’clock EST, gold futures are trading off by approximately one dollar at 1256.30. Even though the U.S.

“It's been a hard day's night, and I’ve been working like a dog. 

It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log.” - The Beatles 

The leaders of the world’s two largest economies will meet, face-to-face, for the first time today. Traders, investors, and market participants will be listening intently as they look to get a sense of the overall tone of this historic meeting. Both Air Force One and the Chinese presidential aircraft have already landed at opposite ends of the airport in Florida.

Monday, we spoke about the multitude of events that will occur this week. These included today’s release of the Fed minutes from the March FOMC meeting, as well as the ADP jobs report. These events could, in fact, be a precursor to the crescendo and finale that will begin on Thursday with the start of an American – Chinese Summit.

Two days from now, the eyes of the world will be intensely focused on a members-only club in Palm Beach, Florida, as the first American-Chinese summit begins. On Thursday, two of the most powerful men in the world will meet for the first time. There seems to be an extreme amount of uncertainty surrounding the meeting between the Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Trump.

This week brings with it a multitude of events that will no doubt shape the future pricing of gold and silver. Key events include today’s release of the ISM manufacturing report and Wednesday’s release of Fed minutes. This series of events will reach a crescendo with Presidents Trump’s scheduled meeting with President Xi Jinping, as well as Friday's jobs report.

As we close out the books for the first quarter of 2017, we see trends which have emerged, as well as trends that have continued. As always, there are winners and losers. This year the precious metal’s performance is certainly stellar, especially when compared to U.S. equity indexes which have done extremely well this year.