Gold Continues to Climb on Weak Dollar, Low Rates, Pandemic

Thursday,   30-Jul-2020   08:54 AM (IST)

Gold was up on Thursday morning in Asia, continuing to hover near all-time highs boosted by a dollar that is at two-year lows, still-low interest rates and a raging pandemic. Gold futures climbed 0.19% to $1,957.25 by 10:30 PM ET (3:30 AM GMT), getting close to the high water mark of $1,960.00 it hit onTuesday morning. The U.S. Dollar Index that tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies was at 93.365, two-year lows. At the same time, interest rates and bond yields remain very low, with the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its benchmark rate near zero this week and expects to keep it at that rate at least until the pandemic subsides. Goldman Sachs has forecast that the rally in gold could continue and expects the yellow metal to hit $2,300. Gold is also getting support from the lack of progress in the U.S. on negotiations for another COVID-19 stimulus package. President Donald Trump dismissed Wednesday Democratic demands for aid to cash-strapped cities. Parts of the existing support expire tomorrow. And concerns over the prospects for an economic recovery are exacerbated by a worsening pandemic, which also pushes investors towards gold. The number of cases globally is almost 17 million, with 4.4 million cases and more than 150,000 deaths in the U.S. alone, according to Johns Hopkins University data. China, South Korea, and Japan have also seen upticks of confirmed cases. Worsening U.S.-China relations have also pushed investors towards gold. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s key China policy adviser, Miles Yu, had his name chiselled out of a monument at a school he attended in southwest China, according to a video shared on social media.