Gold steadies as investors track vaccine rollout, stimulus talks

Gold steadied as investors tracked the deployment of the first Covid-19 vaccines in the US and the continuation of talks over a stimulus bill.

The first deliveries of the vaccine are scheduled for Monday morning and the initial lot will be in all 50 states by Wednesday, according to Gustave Perna, the army general overseeing Operation Warp Speed. Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of lawmakers will unveil a $908 billion relief bill on Monday, although there’s “no guarantee” that Congress will pass it, one of the negotiators said.

Bullion is heading for the first quarterly loss since 2018 as progress on vaccines and signs of recovery dent demand for the haven even as leading central banks continue to offer support for economies. This week, investors will keep a close watch on the Federal Reserve’s final meeting of the year, with markets widely expecting fresh guidance on its asset-purchase program.

Spot gold slipped 0.2% to $1,837.05 an ounce at 8:10 a.m. in Singapore, after a 0.2% gain on Friday. The precious metal remains 21% higher this year after hitting a record in August. Silver was little changed, while platinum rose 0.6% and palladium advanced 0.4%. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%.

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