Gold firms on easing dollar, U.S. stimulus bets
· Gold edged higher on Tuesday as the dollar weakened and hopes for a U.S. coronavirus aid package ahead of the presidential election boosted bullion’s appeal as an inflation hedge.
· Spot gold rose 0.4% to $1,912.71 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.2% at $1,915.40.
· “Gold markets are in a wait-and-see mode in regards to the stimulus plan. It would appear that Republicans and Democrats are still at odds over certain topics within the language,” said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures.
“However, the market still holds out some hope that some type of stimulus plan could get done ... (Stimulus) is clearly the most important factor for the market in the short term.”
· Gold, considered a hedge against inflation and currency debasement, has risen nearly 26% this year amid unprecedented global levels of stimulus during the pandemic.
· The dollar index slipped 0.4% against its rivals to its lowest since Sept. 21, making gold less expensive for holders of other currencies.
· “In the last few days, there hasn’t been much volatility on bullion as investors are awaiting new market drivers,” ActivTrades’ chief analyst, Carlo Alberto De Casa, said in a note. “Only a clear climb above $1,930 would give new strength to the price,” he said, adding that while the bull trend seems to have paused, “it is definitely not yet dead”.
· Investors are now waiting for the final debate between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden on Thursday.
· Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.8% to $24.69 an ounce, platinum jumped 1.9% to $872.60 and palladium gained 1.8% to $2,385.12.
· Stimulus hopes press dollar to one-week low
The dollar was pinned near a one-week low on Wednesday as investors optimistic about the prospects for a pre-election U.S. stimulus package sought riskier currencies.
That pushed the dollar index down 0.4% to a one-week low of 92.991. It sat just above that level in Asia trade.
· Pelosi and Mnuchin make progress in stimulus talks, but big differences remain, and hopes to see “some kind of agreement before the weekend.”, White House chief of staff says
· Trump pushes for major COVID-19 deal over Senate Republican objections
President Donald Trump on Tuesday pushed for a comprehensive COVID-19 relief package, saying he would accept a deal worth more than $2.2 trillion despite opposition to large spending measures among his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Senate.
“I want to do it even bigger than the Democrats,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News, as talks between House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin approached a Tuesday deadline for reaching a bipartisan deal that could pass Congress before Election Day on Nov. 3.
The White House has proposed $1.8 trillion in coronavirus relief, while Pelosi is pushing for $2.2 trillion.
Senate Republicans have repeatedly stated their opposition to additional COVID-19 relief spending near the $2 trillion mark and have focused instead on smaller initiatives.
· Voters want Senate to prioritize coronavirus relief over Supreme Court, new poll finds
About two-thirds of voters nationally and in six electoral swing states believe the Senate should focus on passing more coronavirus aid rather than confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, according to new CNBC/Change Research polls.
Asked what the Senate should make its top priority right now, 66% of U.S. likely voters answered coronavirus relief and 34% said filling the Supreme Court vacancy, the poll released Tuesday found. In the states of Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, 62% of respondents said the Senate should focus on Covid-19 aid, and 38% said it should prioritize filling the seat.
In the six swing states, 66% of voters said they think the economy needs more stimulus, while 34% responded that it does not.
· The surveys found Biden holding a steady edge over Trump.
Nationally, the Democrat leads the Republican incumbent by a 52% to 42% margin.
Biden holds an advantage in all six swing states surveyed, though some of those leads are narrow:
· The GDP report next week will likely show record-breaking economic growth, but it may not help Trump
Next week, the U.S. will get economic news like it has never seen before, reflecting growth that had seemed impossible, as it is likely that GDP will have risen by about 30% or more.
How seriously the country, and its voters, takes the news could influence what happens as the ballots are counted.
“Even though it’s totally meaningless, this is going to give Trump a little lift,” said Steve Blitz, chief U.S. economist at TS Lombard. “He’s going to say, ‘See, I told you, we have a ‘V’ [recovery] and we’re zooming.’”
· Biden’s tax plan could create a tax rate of as much 62% for New Yorkers and Californians, studies show
High earners in New York and California could face combined federal and state tax rates of 62% under Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s tax plan, according to experts.
While Americans earning less than $400,000 would, on average, receive tax cuts under Biden’s plan, the highest earners would face double-digit increases in their official tax rates, according to nonpartisan analyses. In California, New Jersey and New York City, taxpayers earning more than $400,000 a year could face combined state and local statutory income tax rates of more than 60%.
· NATO would seek early summit with Biden, if elected, envoys say
The NATO military alliance is considering a summit in March in Brussels to welcome a new U.S. president if Democrat candidate Joe Biden wins, diplomats and officials said, with a gathering in the first half of next year if Donald Trump is reelected.
· Fed's Quarles says pandemic stresses highlighted fragility in nonbanks
· U.S. FDA meeting on COVID-19 vaccines to discuss criteria for emergency nod
The U.S. health regulator’s criteria for allowing emergency use of a COVID-19 vaccine and plans to monitor its safety after a regulatory go-ahead, are among the topics to be discussed at a closely watched meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Details posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website showed the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention has formulated plans to monitor safety and effectiveness of a vaccine even after the FDA allows for its emergency use.
· Exclusive: U.S. trial of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine may resume this week - sources
AstraZeneca Plc's AZN.L COVID-19 vaccine trial in the United States is expected to resume as early as this week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its review of a serious illness in a study participant, four sources told Reuters.
AstraZeneca’s large, late-stage U.S. trial has been on hold since Sept. 6, after a participant in the company’s UK trial fell ill with what was suspected to be a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis.
· Coronavirus likely to become as ‘endemic’ as the flu and a vaccine might not be able to stop it, top UK scientist says
Covid-19 is likely to become as “endemic” as the annual flu virus, according to the U.K.’s chief scientific advisor.
Some potential vaccines are in late-stage clinical trials, but Patrick Vallance said none is likely to eradicate the virus.
“The notion of eliminating Covid from anywhere is not right, because it will come back,” he said, noting there had only been one human disease “truly eradicated” thanks to a highly effective vaccine and that was smallpox.
“We can’t be certain, but I think it’s unlikely we will end up with a truly sterilizing vaccine, (that is) something that completely stops infection, and it’s likely this disease will circulate and be endemic, that’s my best assessment,” Vallance told the National Security Strategy Committee in London on Monday.
· CORONAVIRUS UPDATES:
Global cases: 41.02M
Global deaths: 1.12M
U.S. cases: 8.51M
U.S. deaths: 226,138
· Spain considers curfews to fight new coronavirus wave
· U.S. concerned about China's move to expand influence in Brazil: Lighthizer
The U.S. government has relayed its concerns to Brazil about moves by China
Brazil’s largest trading partner - to expand its influence in the Latin American country, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Tuesday.
References: Reuters, CNBC, Worldometers
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