Gold Up Over Rising COVID-19 Numbers

By Gina Lee

Investing.com – Gold was up on Tuesday morning in Asia and looked set to close the second quarter of the year with its biggest quarterly advance since 2016.

Gold futures were up by 0.11% at $1,783.15 by 1:16 AM ET (6:16 AM GMT). Investors looked to the safe-haven asset amid the ongoing COVID-19 virus continuing to wreak havoc globally.

There are over 10.2 million cases globally as of June 30, according to Johns Hopkins University. The World Health Organization also issued a grim warning that the world could still see the worst of the pandemic due to a lack of global cooperation.

Investors will also be looking to U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony before the House Financial Services later in the day for clues on further stimulus measures. But Powell warned on Monday that U.S. recovery from the virus was contingent on containing the virus as well as U.S. government measures.

Meanwhile, gold also received a boost from rising U.S.-Sino tensions after China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee passed national security laws for Hong Kong and Macau earlier in the day. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Wednesday that the U.S. would suspend preferential treatment regulations for Hong Kong, which include export license exceptions.

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