AGE Daily Gold Update

AGE Daily Gold Update presents a recap on today's action in the precious metals markets. View archives.

8/10/2020: Gold gains on COVID, China tensions

Source: Bill Musgrave, American Gold Exchange

Austin — Gold gained 0.6% to close near $2,040 despite a rise in equities and the dollar as pandemic worries and increasing tensions between the US and China reinforced demand for safe havens.

Beijing imposed new sanctions against 11 U.S officials, including Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, in retaliation for similar actions by Washington against Chinese officials in Hong Kong. The the escalation comes after mutual embassy closures and deepening accusations by the US over intellectual property piracy and mishandling of COVID-19.

The US realized a grim milestone of 5 million confirmed cases, one-quarter of the worldwide total, as uncertainty grows over the effects of reopening schools. Cases are trending higher in 11 states over the past week while 11 have been steady and 28 have reported declines.

With further pandemic relief stalled in Congress, the President signed executive orders to deliver some additional fiscal stimulus, including payroll tax deferrals and a new program for unemployment benefits. While the legality and efficacy of the orders have been widely questioned, Wall Street reacted positively, with the Dow adding 1.3%.

The dollar picked up 0.2% against major rivals, limiting gold's gains, as the executive orders lifted hopes for recovery. A rising dollar tends to pressure gold and other commodities priced in it for global trade by making them more expensive in other currencies.

The other precious metals were sharply higher, with silver jumping 6.3% while platinum and palladium climbed 3.3$% and 4.3%, respectively.

At the Comex close: December gold gained added $11.70 to $2,039.70; September silver surged $1.72 to $29.26; October platinum picked up $32.30 to $1,002.70; September palladium rose $93.80 to $2,270.40 an ounce.