Gold rises as U.S. Senate passes debt deal

Investing.com - Gold futures traded higher during Thursday’s Asian session as the U.S. Senate reached a debt deal that will end the first U.S. government shutdown in 17 years and perhaps give policymakers there time to avert debt ceiling disaster.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for December delivery rose 0.22% to USD1,285.55 per troy ounce in Asian trading Thursday. The December contract settled higher by 0.71% at USD1,282.30 per ounce on Wednesday.

In U.S. economic news out Wednesday, the Federal Reserve reported in its Beige Book, which analyzes current economic conditions, that the U.S. economy expanded at a moderate pace from September into October, though the U.S. central bank said fiscal uncertainty was dampening recovery.

Under normal circumstances, the Beige Book data would have had traders departing gold on speculation that the U.S. economy was strengthening to the point that the Fed would again consider tapering its quantitative easing program.

However, the shutdown has commanded more attention than other issues this week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, and the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, agreed on a plan to end the U.S. fiscal impasse and reopen the government as well as extend Washington's borrowing authority to avoid defaults.

Now the more volatile U.S. House of Representatives, controlled by Republicans, must pass the measure. The bill passed the Senate 81-18 with only Republicans voting against it.

That bill will fund the federal government through Jan. 15 and extend the government’s borrowing power, known as the debt ceiling, through Feb. 7, NBC News reported.

Elsewhere, Comex silver for December delivery climbed 0.71% to USD21.517 an ounce while copper for December delivery fell 0.08% to USD3.305 an ounce.