Gold climbed back above $2 000 an ounce as renewed tensions between the U.S. and China boosted demand for haven assets, and the dollar weakened.
The Trump administration announced further curbs on Huawei Technologies aimed at cutting its access to commercially available chips. The move is the latest tit-for-tat in escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing over everything from the pandemic to China’s tight grip over Hong Kong. Equities drifted, while a dollar gauge slid to the lowest since 2018.
Gold has surged this year on rising haven demand and as investors bet central banks and governments will maintain support for economies hit by the coronavirus. Bullion hit an all-time high on August 7, before posting its first weekly drop in more than two months, buffeted by an uptick in real yields.
“We’re getting back in the saddle,” Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp, said in a note. “After plunging 10%, washing out leveraged players and retail buyers who arrived late to the party, gold has made an enduring comeback.”
Bullion holdings in the top gold-backed exchange-traded fund, SPDR Gold Shares, expanded on Monday following their first weekly drop since March.
Bullion has gained more than 30% this year, aided by massive stimulus measures from central banks and governments trying to help economies to recover from the pandemic. The recent pressure on the dollar, worries over new Covid-19 hotspots and geopolitical uncertainty add to gold’s allure.
Spot gold advanced for a second day, rising 1.2% to $2 008.13 an ounce at 10:06 a.m. in London. Prices hit a record of $2 ,075.47 earlier this month. Silver gained 2.7% to $28.216. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%.
Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting will be issued on Wednesday and may yield clues on its next steps to increase accommodation. In addition, the release may have details on when the central bank will wrap up its first-ever review of how it pursues its goals, including price stability. The study may pave the way for policy makers to take a more relaxed view on inflation.
As real interest rates remain below zero and investors expect more stimulus measures, analysts including those at Goldman Sachs Group see further increases for gold. Goldman’s Jeffrey Currie said Thursday that “we’re not out of this crisis yet,” with the potential for stimulus to last into 2021.