Gold price heads for back-to-back loss amid vaccine hope, U.S. dollar strength

New York (Sep 3)  Gold futures headed lower for a second straight day Thursday as the U.S. dollar recovered more ground, putting pressure on bullion’s recent climb.

However, growing expectations for a vaccine or effective remedies against the COVID-19 pandemic, also have weighed on precious metals’ pricing lately, experts say.

Bullion has been boosted by economic uncertainty stoked by the pandemic and by the outsize monetary efforts implemented by central bank’s to stem the harm to business activity across the world, but a cure for the deadly disease could dislodge gold from its bullish perch.

“If a vaccine is imminent, it is safe to assume that central bankers will take their foot off the policy accelerator,” wrote Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp, in a daily note.

“The market may start re-balancing from gold to equities in the short term; this could be something to keep an eye on,” he wrote.

December gold GCZ20, -0.21% GC00, -0.21% was trading $3.80, or 0.2%, lower at $1,940.90 an ounce, after declining 1.7% on Wednesday.

December silver contract SIZ20, -0.73% SI00, -0.73%, meanwhile, was headed 7 cents, or 0.2% lower, at $27.33, following its 4.4% skid in the previous session.

Meanwhile, the dollar was up 0.2% early Thursday, as gauged by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, 0.15%, a measure of the buck’s strength against a half-dozen currencies. After touching a two-year low, the index has gained 0.7% so far this week, putting it on track for its best weekly gain since April 25, according to FactSet data.

A stronger dollar can make the cost of assets pegged to the currency comparatively more expensive to overseas buyers.

MarketWatch