Gold Gains as Senate Drops Health-Care Bill

Gold prices advanced Tuesday as the U.S. dollar slumped after Senate Republicans abandoned their effort to dismantle and replace the Affordable Care Act Monday night.

The precious metal rose 0.23% to $1,236.50 a troy ounce Tuesday morning. Copper, meanwhile, fell 0.41% to $5,980 a metric ton.

The failure to replace former President Barack Obama's signature health law left the market questioning whether other promises from President Donald Trump will be achievable. That pressured the dollar and helped lift gold, a traditional haven commodity in times of political uncertainty, said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research at Commerzbank.

Mr. Trump's other campaign goals, including infrastructure projects and tax reform, "are likely to get more resistance," Mr. Weinberg said.

The WSJ Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against a basket of currencies, was down 0.48% to 86.95. A weaker dollar makes dollar-denominated metals more affordable for holders of other currencies.

The U.S. legislative gridlock has also weighed on copper, Mr. Weinberg said. Copper prices were boosted following Mr. Trump's election on hopes of new infrastructure projects, but that spending now seems less likely.

Among base metals, zinc fell 1.52% to $2,777.50 a metric ton, aluminum was down 0.52% to $1,902.50 a metric ton, tin gained 0.28% to 19,965 a metric ton, nickel rose 0.42% to $9,650 a metric ton and lead dropped 0.67% to $2,282 a metric ton.

Among precious metals, silver was down 0.02% to $16.10 a troy ounce, platinum fell 0.25% to $928 a troy ounce and palladium dropped 0.36% to $862.40 a troy ounce.

Write to Justin Yang at justin.yang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 18, 2017 07:04 ET (11:04 GMT)