By Gina Lee
Gold was down on Thursday morning in Asia, with the growing fears over the rising number of cases in China and the U.S impacting even the safe-haven asset.
21 new cases were reported in Beijing on Wednesday, the latest additions to the over 150 cases linked to an outbreak at the city’s Xinfadi market. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Texas reported an 11% surge in hospitalizations on the same day.
Gold futures were down by 0.05% at $1,734.70 by 12:12 AM ET (5:12 AM GMT). Stocks, which usually move in the opposite direction to gold, were mostly down on Thursday.
The dollar’s earlier gains limited gold’s advance, but potential stimulus measures from both the U.S. and U.K. could give the yellow metal, widely used as a hedge against inflation and currency debasement, a boost.
Meanwhile, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell suggested overnight that although the U.S. economy is starting to recover from the worst of the COVID-19 impact, it could need more help considering the rising number of cases and with around 25 million unemployed Americans.
Across the Atlantic, the Bank of England is widely expected to announce a quantitative easing package of at least GBP 100 billion ($125.515 billion) during its policy meeting later in the day.
