UNITED STATES January 18 2017 7:44 AM

NEW YORK (Scrap Register): Gold is sharply higher on the back of a weaker U.S. dollar, said INTL FCStone. The precious metal may also be getting a bid as more of (U.S. President-elect) Donald Trump's unsettling policy pronouncements pile up.

“Only a day after Trump irked the Chinese by again casting doubt on the sanctity of the one-China policy, he caused additional unease among NATO allies by calling the alliance obsolete, although he still thought it was important,” he added.

He also minimized the U.S. relationship with Germany, implying that he would initially treat the German chancellor and the Russian president with pretty much the same level of trust and also speculated that even more countries would leave the EU this year, calling it a good thing. 

It remains to be seen how much of this policy improvisation will be translated into action once Trump takes office, but his unorthodox view of the world is certainly going to contribute to much more volatility in the markets next year, he noted.

Around 10:40 a.m. EST, the euro was up to $1.06958 from $1.06388 late Friday ahead of a three-day U.S. holiday weekend. Comex February gold was up $17, or 1.4%, to $1,213.20 an ounce.