Gold futures fell slightly at the end of trading Friday (Saturday morning WIB), pressured by the strengthening of the US dollar, but still held above the level of 1,900 US dollars after news that US President Donald Trump was positive for COVID-19 reduced risk sentiment.
The most active gold contract for December delivery on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, eroded 8.7 US dollars, or 0.45 percent, to close at 1,907.60 US dollars per ounce. The day before, gold futures jumped 20.8 US dollars or 1.1 percent to 1,916.30 US dollars.
Gold futures fell 7.7 US dollars, or 0.4 percent, to 1,895.50 US dollars on Wednesday (30/09/2020), after surging 20.9 US dollars or 1.11 percent to 1,903.20 US dollars on Tuesday, and strengthened 16 US dollars or 0.86 percent to 1,882.30 US dollars on Monday (28/9/2020).
"The election is 33 days away, there is so much unknown - is it a mild case, how will he react? So we have to run to safety to keep gold afloat, Traders appear cautious as they are concerned about selling in the equity market." said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.
The focus is also on the US corona virus aid agreement, which is still experiencing a bottleneck. Gold could bounce back "if the US congress passes a stimulus bill, which seems to be hanging in the market for now," added Haberkorn.
Gold still holds above $ 1,900 despite Trump's COVID-19
Gold has climbed to its highest level in more than a week after Trump said in a tweet that he and his wife Melania tested positive for the coronavirus, hitting Wall Street.
But the White House assures Americans that the President will continue to do his job. Investors also noted the latest monthly employment report before the November 3 presidential election, which showed US job growth slowed more than expected in September.
The monthly jobs report released by the US Department of Labor showed that US nonfarm payrolls increased by 661,000 in September, worse than expected and much lower than the 1.489 million jobs created in August.
"Gold is likely to move in a narrow range in the short term. The market will wait until the end of the week and look for news," said Tai Wong, head of base and precious metal derivatives trading at BMO.
The dollar has also benefited from safe-haven inflows, limiting gold's advance. The dollar index rose on Friday (2/10/2020) after weakening US equities. In recent days, the dollar has replaced gold as a safe haven.
Another precious metal, silver for December delivery fell 22.5 cents, or 0.93 percent, to close at 24.029 dollars an ounce. Platinum for January delivery fell 14.6 dollars, or 1.61 percent, to settle at 891.4 dollars an ounce. (Antara)