Gold holds $1,900 level on Trump COVID news, set for best week in 8
· Gold clung to the $1,900 level in choppy trading on Friday, with gains capped by a firm dollar, but bullion remained headed for its biggest weekly rise in eight weeks as U.S. President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 positive test hurt risk sentiment.
· Spot gold eased 0.2% to $1,900.40 an ounce. Prices were set to rise 2.2% this week, heading for the biggest weekly percentage rise since early August. U.S. gold futures settled down 0.5% at $1,907.60.
· “The election is 33 days away, there’s so much unknown -- will it be a mild case, how will he react to it? So we have flight to safety keeping gold afloat,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
“Traders seem cautious because they’re concerned about equity markets selling off.”
· Gold had risen to an over one-week high after Trump said in a tweet that he and his wife Melania had tested positive for the coronavirus, hammering Wall Street.
· However the White House reassured Americans that the President was “not incapacitated”.
· Investors also took stock of the last monthly employment report before the Nov. 3 presidential election, which showed U.S. job growth slowed more than expected in September.
· “Gold is likely to remain range-bound in the short term. The market will wait through the weekend and look for news,” said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metals derivatives trading at BMO.
The dollar too benefited from safe-haven inflows, limiting gold’s upside.
Focus was also on an elusive U.S. coronavirus relief aid deal.
Gold can move back up “if the U.S. congress passes a stimulus bill, that seems to be what this market is hanging on to for now,” Haberkorn added.
· Elsewhere, silver eased 0.6% to $23.73 an ounce, platinum dropped 2% to $878.47 and palladium was down 0.1% to $2,313.68.
· Jobs report shows fewer hires as recovery loses momentum
Nonfarm payrolls rose by a lower than expected 661,000 in September and the unemployment rate was 7.9%, the Labor Department said Friday in the final jobs report before the November election.
Markets reacted little to the report, with stocks still heading for a lower open following news that President Donald Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19.
Despite the deceleration in job creation, there were some positive signs as the economy continues its pandemic-era recovery.
· Trump experienced oxygen drops Friday and Saturday, but he could be discharged Monday, doctor says
· Trump put on steroid recommended for severe Covid-19 cases, even as doctors share upbeat outlook
White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said the president’s medical team had begun treating the president with dexamethasone. The course of treatment came in response to two incidents in which Trump’s blood oxygen levels dipped below normal in recent days.
Conley also said that Trump could be discharged as soon as Monday and said his health was improving.
· Trump urges Congress to pass new coronavirus stimulus: ‘GET IT DONE’
· Concern over Trump’s condition remains high despite doctor reporting improvement
· Trump’s health and fiscal stimulus fight will steer the markets in the week ahead
The market was helped by signs that a stimulus package is still a possibility, after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked airlines not to furlough workers. She promised either a stand alone aid bill, or a bigger negotiated relief legislation that would help the industry.
“The market is going to watch health updates from the White House medical staff, and it’s going to watch how the president communicates with the public,” said Julian Emanuel, head of equities and derivatives at BTIG. “Will we see him in person in the next week in any form? What’s his volume of tweets? All as a way to first gauge the severity of the case.”
Trump and Melania Trump are reported to have mild cases, but as time goes on the market will turn to how the illness could impact the presidential election.
· After Trump tests positive, Biden campaign seeks to keep focus on COVID-19 response
· Biden leads Trump by 14 points nationally a month from Election Day, NBC/WSJ poll finds
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s national lead over President Donald Trump jumped this month, and voters consider the Democratic challenger better equipped to handle a range of key issues than the Republican incumbent, a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found.
Biden garners the support of 53% of registered voters nationally, versus 39% for Trump, according to the survey released Sunday. The advantage of 14 percentage points in the poll, taken after Tuesday’s first presidential debate but before the early Friday announcement of Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis, compares with Biden’s edge of 8 percentage points in an NBC/WSJ survey taken last month.
In the NBC/WSJ poll taken before the president’s diagnosis, 52% of registered voters said Biden would do a better job dealing with the coronavirus, versus 35% who chose Trump.
Asked who would better handle a range of other key issues, respondents preferred Trump in only one area: the economy.
· Trump coronavirus diagnosis changes dynamic of stimulus talks, Nancy Pelosi says
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that President Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis could change the shape of talks toward an evasive stimulus deal.
“This kind of changes the dynamic because here [Republicans] see the reality of what we have been saying all along. This is a vicious virus,” the California Democrat told MSNBC, adding that she would pray for the president’s safety.
The House passed Democrats’ $2.2 trillion proposal Thursday night. Mnuchin has offered a $1.6 trillion package.
· U.S. House Speaker Pelosi says making progress on coronavirus relief legislation
· CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
Global cases: More than 35.38 million
Global deaths: At least 1.04
U.S. cases: More than 7.63 million
U.S. deaths: At least 214,610
· As cold weather arrives, U.S. states see record increases in COVID-19 cases
Nine U.S. states have reported record increases in COVID-19 cases over the last seven days, mostly in the upper Midwest and West where chilly weather is forcing more activities indoors.
· Russia's new coronavirus cases top 10,000 for first time since mid-May
· India seeks up to 500 million coronavirus vaccine doses by July
India hopes to receive up to 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by July to inoculate about 250 million people, health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Sunday, as infections in the world’s second-worst affected country continue to surge.
India’s has recorded some 6.62 million infections, with 75,829 in the past 24 hours, while COVID-19-related deaths have totalled 102,714, health ministry data showed.
· UK launches scheme to help new COVID jobless back into work
The British government launched a new employment programme on Monday aimed at helping those left jobless due to the COVID-19 pandemic to get back into work.
The Department for Work and Pensions said the Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) scheme would be backed by a 238 million pound ($308 million) investment.
· EU, UK to step up Brexit talks to try to close 'significant gaps' over trade deal
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the head of the EU’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen, agreed in a phone call on Saturday to step up Brexit talks to close “significant gaps” barring a new trade partnership.
· UK's Johnson doesn't want a no-deal Brexit but can live with it
Reference: CNBC, Reuters
Thai
Eng