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Gold edges up as dollar slips, coronavirus concerns persist

· Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, helped by a weaker dollar and worries over a second surge in coronavirus cases, although the safe-haven metal held a narrow range as investors’ focus on next week’s U.S. presidential election.

· Spot gold was up 0.4% at $1,909.58 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.3% to $1,911.90.

· The dollar index slipped 0.3% against its rivals, making gold less expensive for holders of other currencies.

· “Gold is stuck in a tight range and there’s probably not going to be too much activity before the U.S. election,” said Michael Matousek, head trader at U.S. Global Investors.

However, people are still carrying bullish bias on gold because of the coronavirus worries, slowdown in global economies and stimulus measures, which is prompting investors to add gold into their portfolios, he added.

· The United States, Russia, France and many other countries are setting records for coronavirus infections, forcing some countries to impose new curbs.

· The White House on Tuesday tamped down expectations for a major coronavirus relief package to be agreed upon by the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election, saying House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi was seeking too much.

· Democratic challenger Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in national polls but the race is much tighter in battleground states that determine the election outcome.

· “Gold’s outlook will remain very bullish if Election Day delivers a ‘blue wave’ that signals massive stimulus on coronavirus relief and infrastructure spending,” Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note.

· Gold, considered a hedge against inflation and currency debasement, has jumped 26% this year amid unprecedented global levels of stimulus during the pandemic.

· Silver gained 0.6% to $24.46 per ounce.

· Elsewhere, palladium fell 0.5% to $2,340.21 per ounce, while platinum rose 1.6% to $883.88.

· Palladium could test $2,600 by mid-2021 bolstered by market tightness and stimulus measures, UBS said in a note.

· U.S. Stimulus Talk Updates:

White House says COVID-19 aid deal seen 'in coming weeks'

The White House said on Tuesday it saw a potential deal on COVID-19 stimulus funding in “coming weeks,” casting doubt on whether a deal could be struck with Congress before the Nov. 3 election.

White House spokeswoman says chances 'slim' for COVID-19 relief bill before U.S. election

The White House press secretary on Tuesday tamped down prospects for a major coronavirus relief package to be agreed upon by the Nov. 3 U.S. presidential election, blaming Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as seeking too much.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell adjourned the Senate until Nov. 9, further diminishing the prospects of a deal being reached before the election.

· U.S. consumer confidence dips in October

U.S. consumer confidence fell in October, in line with expectations that economic activity would slow in the fourth quarter as the boost from fiscal stimulus fades.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index slipped to reading of 100.9 this month from 101.3 in September. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index rising to a reading of 102.0 in October.

· U.S. core capital goods orders increase solidly in September

New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods rose more than expected in September, wrapping up a quarter of potentially record growth in business spending and the economy, thanks to fiscal stimulus aimed at softening the blow from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday followed robust data this month on retail sales and the housing market. But government money has dried up and new coronavirus infections are surging across the country, leading economists to anticipate a slowdown in activity in the fourth quarter.

The outcome of next Tuesday’s hotly contested presidential election could also weigh on business and consumer sentiment, and pose a risk to the recovery from the worst recession in at least 73 years. More than four in ten supporters of both President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger and former Vice President, Joe Biden, said they would not accept the result of the November election if their preferred candidate loses, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

· U.S. early voting tops 70 million, continuing historic pace

· Coronavirus Updates:
Global cases: 44.23M
Global deaths: 1.17M

U.S. cases: 9.03 (+74,993)
U.S. deaths: 232,085 (+1,040)

· Pfizer’s late-stage coronavirus vaccine trial is near complete enrollment with 42,000 volunteers

Pfizer not yet ready to release COVID-19 vaccine data

Pfizer said in a presentation that the independent monitor which will determine whether or not the trial has been successful has not conducted any interim efficacy analyses yet.

Pfizer CEO: may be a week between conclusive vaccine data, public notification, making it unlikely it will release data before the Nov. 3 presidential election.

· Merck says early data from COVID-19 vaccines expected this year

Merck & Co Inc on Tuesday said it expects to report results from early-stage studies of two potential COVID-19 vaccines before the end of the year and has advanced an experimental antiviral drug into late-stage testing.

Initial data showing whether V591 triggers an immune response in trial participants is expected by the end of the year, Merck research chief Roger Perlmutter said on a conference call.

· Europeans refocus on new curbs as COVID surges across continent

European governments moved on Tuesday to set new curbs in motion to try to rein in a fast-growing surge of coronavirus infections and provide economic balm to help businesses survive the pandemic.

World leaders face an increasingly difficult task holding the disease at bay while keeping their economies afloat as they pin their hopes on as-yet unproven vaccines.

· Bank of England set to return to the stimulus pump

Britain’s darkening economic outlook looks set to push the Bank of England into ramping up its huge bond-buying stimulus programme next week for the third time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The central bank is expected to increase the size of its asset purchase programme by a further 100 billion pounds on Nov. 5, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

That would take it to 845 billion pounds ($1.10 trillion), almost double the level before the pandemic, making the BoE’s response to the coronavirus crisis one of the most aggressive among the world’s central banks.

But Governor Andrew Bailey and his colleagues are unlikely to take a big step closer to cutting interest rates below zero for the first time, something investors do not see as a possibility until well into 2021.

Britain’s economy has been propped up by BoE bond-buying alongside a surge in government spending that will explode the budget deficit to around 20% of gross domestic product in 2020.

· Pompeo says India and U.S. cooperating against threats, including China

· U.S. warns of threat posed by China, signs military pact with India

Reference: CNBC, Reuters, Worldometers