Gold ticked higher and is headed for its first monthly gain in five as optimism over coronavirus vaccines gives way to renewed bets on inflation and a weaker dollar. Economic disruption and mounting global stimulus spending has helped carry gold toward its best year since 2010. With trading volumes still thin in the holiday season, “precious metals traders were taking the cue of direction from the U.S. dollar in the absence of any new fundamental drivers,” Philip Futures wrote in a note, Bloomberg reports. The U.S. currency hit the lowest since 2018 earlier this month. Spot gold edged up by 0.3 percent at US$1,878.79 an ounce at 10:46 a.m. in Shanghai, after a volatile day on Monday that ended with a loss of 0.5 percent.

Source: The Standard December 29, 2020 03:33 UTC