Gold rises up slightly as investors hedge

LONDON: Gold was up slightly on Monday morning in Asia despite a stronger dollar. Investors are wary of a possible contested U.S. election, and further European COVID-19 lockdowns are also pushing the safe-haven metal.
Gold futures inched up 0.03% at $1,880.40 by 12:47 AM ET (4:47 AM GMT)
The uncertainties produced by the U.S. election and the ever-expanding COVID-19 pandemic are pushing gold up as investors hedge their bets. The potential of a disputed election, and the consequent lack of a COVID-19 stimulus, helped move gold upwards, even as the dollar also rose. The dollar and gold usually move in an inverse relationship.
Gold was assisted by the turmoil and uncertainty around tomorrow’s U.S. election; the COVID-19 pandemic has caused changes to state ballot collection systems that will create a delay in vote counting. There is the potential for President Donald Trump to attempt to claim an early victory without a full vote tally, leading to a disputed outcome and possible civil disorder.
Markets generally are in a holding pattern as they await a very uncertain outcome, with Democrat challenger Joe Biden currently ahead in the polls, but with battleground states too close to call.
European COVID-19 lockdowns are also pushing risk-averse investors toward safe-haven assets, with the U.K. Portugal, and Italy following France and Germany with strong measures to contain the spread of the virus. Europe’s new coronavirus cases have doubled in the last few weeks, pushing back any recovery from the pandemic for the foreseeable future.
The U.S is also suffering a major surge in coronavirus cases, with the daily death rate now close to 1,000, and 44 of 50 states having rising numbers of new cases. COVID-19 is now the third leading cause of U.S. deaths, after heart disease and cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.