Gold up on weakened dollar as the yellow metal appears headed to its best week since July and the dollar looks at its worst week since March. Uncertainty about the U.S. election which would likely impact continued pandemic stimulus and monetary policy are supporting gold’s attraction.
This morning’s U.S. jobs report for October, showing better than expected numbers, did little to move precious metals, but did boost stocks. The Labor Department reporting unemployment fell to 6.9% from 7.9% last month. Economists had forecast a drop to 7.7%. Additionally, 638,000 jobs were added in October, well over the estimate of 530,000.
Gold futures rose 2.7% Thursday to settle at $1,946.80 an ounce on Comex. The December contract advanced 3.6% in the first four days of the week after the yellow metal dropped 0.8% in October, its third consecutive monthly decline. Gold is up more than $400 — or 28% — so far this year as investors have flocked to gold because of uncertainty from the coronavirus pandemic and the economy. Currently, the December contract is up to $1,957.00 and the DG spot price is $1,954.50.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was ahead of President Donald Trump in the race early Friday, but it looked likely that Republicans would hold on to the Senate, handicapping Biden’s agenda and stymieing major policy changes. The key states of Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania were still outstanding Friday, but Georgia and Pennsylvania’s ballot count swung to slightly favor the Democrat this morning.
U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers pledged to continue low interest rates on Thursday as the pandemic continued to pressure the global economy. Economic activity remains “well below” pre-coronavirus levels, according to the Fed statement. Chairman Jerome Powell said that there’s plenty the central bank can still do to bolster the economy.
“The path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus,” the Fed statement said. “The ongoing health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment and inflation in the near term and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term.”
The U.S. set another daily record of new coronavirus infections on Thursday of more than 116,000 as more than 1,000 people died for a third consecutive day and 20 states saw new daily highs.
The virus known as COVID-19 has killed 1.23 million people worldwide and sickened 48.6 million. About 20% of the cases — and 19% of the deaths — are in the U.S. The country has 9.61 million cases, more than any other nation.
Pandemic-related lockdowns have sent millions of Americans into unemployment. Weekly initial jobless claims fell slightly last week but remain elevated because of the pandemic.
Silver futures rose 5.4% Thursday to settle at $25.19 an ounce on Comex. The December contract gained 6.5% in the first four days of the week. The most active contract increased 0.6% in October. The December contract is up currently to $25.935 and the DG spot price is $25.73.
Spot palladium increased 3.2% Thursday to $2,391.80 an ounce. It gained 7.7% in the first four days of the week and dropped 4.5% in October. Spot platinum advanced 2.3% Thursday to $896.50 an ounce and rose 5.5% in the four days of the week. It decreased 6% in October. The DG spot price for platinum is currently up to $915.00 an ounce, while palladium is up to $2,474.70.
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