· Gold soared to a nine-year peak on Tuesday, boosted by a dollar sell-off and expectations for increased stimulus to aid the recovery of pandemic-hit economies, while silver dashed past the $20 threshold to an over six-year high.
· Spot gold rose 1.5% to $1,842.52 per ounce. It hit its highest since September 2011 and was track to post its biggest daily gain since early May. U.S. gold futures settled up 1.5% at $1,843.9.
· The U.S. dollar, viewed as safe-haven rival to bullion, hit more than a four-month low.
· U.S congressional leaders are set to discuss a fresh stimulus package this week, and European Union leaders clinched a “historic” deal on a massive stimulus plan on Tuesday morning.
· Gold will push toward record highs over the next 18 months, a Reuters poll showed, while low jewelry sales in Asia and the prospect of economic recovery will hinder further gains.
· “As economic uncertainty fades, demand for safe-haven assets including gold should fall. However, this is only likely to take a little shine off the gold price, as ultra-low real yields remain a key support,” Capital Economics economist James O’Rourke wrote in a note.
· Gold prices surged to a nine-year high on Tuesday on the back of the European stimulus package and coronavirus surge, nearing its record high of $1,923 set in 2011, ANZ Research’s Hayden Dimes said in a note.
· In other metals, silver soared 6.4% to $21.18 per ounce, after hitting its highest since July 2014 at $21.20.
· “We’re seeing both retail and institutional inflows into Exchange Traded Products and that is helping buttress the (silver) price,” said Michael DiRienzo, executive director, Silver Institute.
· “The silver price is rising because of its duality as not only a valuable investment but also as an industrial metal ... interest in silver has risen to levels we have not seen in some time.”
· Palladium climbed 5% to $2,156.71 per ounce, after hitting a peak since April 21.
· Platinum jumped 5.2% to $886.97 per ounce, after rising to its highest since March 10.
· U.S. records over 1,000 coronavirus deaths in a single day for first time since early June
· Trump warns U.S. coronavirus outbreak will probably ‘get worse before it gets better’
President Donald Trump warned Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic in the United States will probably “get worse before it gets better.”
Trump’s comments come as the coronavirus continues to rapidly spread across the nation. The virus has infected more than 3.8 million Americans and killed at least 141,118 as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Texas and Florida hit a grim record Monday for daily coronavirus deaths based on a seven-day moving average, as hospitalizations continue to surge in 34 states across the United States.
· President Trump urges Americans to wear masks to contain the coronavirus outbreak
After months of resistance to masks, President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Americans to wear them to help contain the coronavirus outbreak that’s rapidly spreading throughout the U.S.
“We’re asking everybody that, when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask,” he said at White House news briefing. “Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact, they have an effect, and we need everything we can get.”
· U.S. House speaker Pelosi says Republican $1 trillion coronavirus aid proposal not enough
Democratic U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said on Tuesday the $1 trillion Republicans say they are considering as the size of a coronavirus aid package would not be sufficient to do what is needed for the U.S. economy and Americans’ health.
“We want to see this bill, not just have a conversation,” Pelosi told reporters after a meeting with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
Schumer said: “We’re glad they came to see us, we’re glad they outlined some very broad concepts, but they’re not close to getting ready to negotiate.”
· U.S. House passes $740 billion defense bill; fight with Trump looms
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, a $740 billion bill setting policy for the Pentagon that President Donald Trump has threatened to veto over a provision removing Confederate names from military bases.
The Democratic-led House backed the measure by 295 to 125, paving the way for negotiations with the Republican-led Senate on a compromise version of the NDAA, which Trump would then sign or veto.
· U.S. accuses Chinese nationals of hacking spree for COVID-19 data, defense secrets
The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday indicted two Chinese nationals over their role in what the agency called a decade-long cyber espionage campaign that targeted defense contractors, COVID researchers and hundreds of other victims worldwide.
· Britain nears abandoning Brexit trade deal hope: The Telegraph
Britain and the European Union will fail to sign a post-Brexit trade deal, with only a few days left before Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s July deadline, The Telegraph reported.
The UK government’s assumption is that there will not be a deal, though it remains possible that a “basic” agreement could be reached if the EU gives ground in the autumn, the newspaper said, citing government sources.
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
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